Yesterday
by in-prose
Summary: It's been fifty years since Helen lost her daughter. She has kept on doing what she was always done. What happens when her past literally coming crashing back into her life? Updated: November 15th.
1. Part 1

That was her entire team accounted for. "Also, good. I'll come find you when I'm finished here. This—" said Helen.

"Won't take long," said Lex from his bed finishing his mother's sentence.

**Author's Notes**: Just another idea that won't leave me alone. I'm working on the next part, so please be patient. I would love to know what you think. Also, there was no beta, so there may be a few editing mistakes.

**Disclaimer**: These are not my characters, I just play with them. No copyright infringement intended.

**Yesterday**

Helen pushed her bangs out of her face. She sighed heavily as she tired to catch her breath. She was deep in the bowels of the Sanctuary by the river gate. She was tired, dirty, sweaty and fighting with everything she and her team had in order keep the enormous insect-things inside the property.

They had been working all day since the creatures that hadn't even identified yet had escaped. Helen now suspected the clicking noises they had been in their enclosure were more than just echo location. It was clearly communication; they were also clearly more intelligent. It had been an organized break out.

She taped the small radio earpiece, "Henry, what's the status?"

"Team #2 have retrieved their runaways combined with your three that leaves Team #1 with the ring leader," he answered and then added, "You're Team #1, by the way."

"Location?" she said.

"Still moving towards the generator."

"We got it," said another voice of the over radio.

A figure raced passed in the gloom, "You coming, Mom?"

Helen paused just long enough to check her stunner before following her son. She jogged after him, quickly caught up, and then over took him just because. She knew it was somewhat childish, but it had been a long time since she had done field work with her oldest son. She was feeling somewhat giddy. Noah was a medical doctor based out of the London Sanctuary, though he was constantly going back and forth. When he was in the States, he generally stayed in the lab, but during a crisis everyone lent a hand.

"Where's Lex?" he said from behind her.

"He's somewhere in the obsolete heating system. He was hoping to block at least one entrance," said Helen.

"Typical."

Helen smiled to herself. It was typical of her younger son to be doing something as crazy as crawling through heating vents looking for a giant beetle. He had volunteered and it was a strategic location. The beetles seem to be able to see or feel electrical currents. They had escaped by severing the one electric wire that the door lock needed to stay locked and closed. The pod or swarm or whatever you call six black beetles the size of Labradors had been attempting to get to the main power source for the house all day.

Helen turned the corner to the short corridor that led to the generator room. She saw the board coming towards her and stopped just in time. She felt the ripple of air across her midsection before she heard the crack of wood on stone. The two by four splintered breaking in half.

"Lex!" she yelled and heard the cry echoed behind her.

"God dammit! Mom, I'm so sorry. I thought you were—"

"A beetle? Why aren't you in the heating system?" said Helen.

"It collapsed. I'm really sorry. I can't see anything down here."

The tunnel was dark with only a bare light bulb strung every twenty feet or so. It took her a moment to she notice the tangle of metal struts and wood behind him, the scratches on his face and layer of the dust over his black leather field jacket.

"Are you all right?" asked Noah.

"Probably. It won't get through up there," said Lex. "I've done my job. This hallway should be its only option."

"Good. Let's get set up," said Helen.

They clambered over the debris. Helen and Noah took positions in the doorway of the generator room while Lex stood against the opposite wall with his broken peace of wood.

"Two by four, a classic weapon choice," said Noah mockingly.

"Laugh all you want. It works really well. The stunners don't penetrate the shell. You hit them and when they flip over, stun the shit out of them," Lex said without taking his eyes off the darkened passage way.

He had been working most of day with Team #2 as Henry classified them and only joined his mother and brother to help with the capture of the final beetle. Helen and Noah had adopted a similar strategy without the board.

"'Cause a stump is really effective."

"Boys," said Helen.

The banter ended at once. There was scuffling sounds beyond the rubble. Helen tried to rely on her hearing instead of her eyes. It was trying to find a way around. Without warning, the beetle simply chose the easiest route and blundered straight through. Bit of wood and more dust rose as the insect charged.

Lex leaped forward. He brandished his plank like a battle axe, but in the cramped corridor the angle wasn't right and it merely bounced out the hard exoskeleton. The beetle still felt it. It rounded on Lex. It changed directions so quickly Lex was thrown across the passage and knocked Noah over.

Once again, the beetle chose the simplest route: over the jumble of arms or legs. Helen pulled the trigger of her stunner, but, as Lex has pointed out, the shell was too thick and even the strongest blast had no effect. The beetle made it into the generator room. Two pincers unfolded as it scuttled straight towards the main power conduit.

Lex untangled himself from his brother and assaulted the insect. He tried to wedge the board under the beetle and flip it over. He should have had a long piece of wood. He was too close. Helen saw what was going to happen and could do nothing but call out.

The beetle focused on Lex again, but will its pincers open the attack was much more unforgiving. It caught hold of Lex's arm and pulled him down to the cement floor with tremendous strength. It had only taken a few seconds, but it was enough time for Noah to find his feet. He rushed forward with Lex's two by four and attempted the same move. With the beetle concentrating on Lex, Noah was able to flip the beetle onto its side. Helen was there stun the soft, unprotected underside. A few more seconds and everything was quiet except for their heavy breathing.

Helen didn't wait for the beetle to stop rocking back and forth on its shell before she jumped forward to check her son's injuries. Lex was caked in dust and blood. There was a laceration from his throat and down to his shoulder. There was another great gash on his arm where the beetle had grabbed him. He was a mess and she just wanted to get him out of the basement.

"Lex, look at me. Can you stand?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Lex said. He wasn't.

Noah moved forward to help as Helen pulled Lex arm over her shoulder.

"I've got him, I've got him," she said. "Stay with the beetle. Call Eden and Clark and then come to the med. lab as soon as they get here."

Noah nodded grimly, "Keep me posted."

"I will."

Helen's heart was pounding. She would never let it show, but even the smallest injury to either of her living children brought back terrifying memories. She was a good doctor and a capable surgeon, but everything was different with her own child. Alexander William Magnus, or Lex as most people called him, what not a child anymore.

He put most of his weight on his mother's shoulder. He was independent to a fault. He had been that way since the first began to talk. He was charming and affectionate, but much like his mother, he kept his true feeling and thoughts to himself. The opposite of his brother. But right now, he was asking for help and literally leaning on his mother. He was really in pain.

"It's just stitches, that's all I need," Lex said.

Helen didn't respond. There would be no arguing with him like this. If she tried, he would just pull further away and possibly refuse any kind of treatment.

As they reached the elevator, he coughed and winced. "I'm having trouble breathing, actually. I got hit in the chest. I might have a few broken ribs."

"Again."

"Yeah, again."

The elevator doors opened onto the main lab. Helen directed them to the medical lab and deposited Lex onto one of the beds. She adjusted the bed, so he could lean back without lying down. He remained sitting up on his own. Lex was her fighter.

"Can you get your leathers off?" Helen asked.

"Nope," he said after a pause. "But don't cut it."

"I'm going to have to. You are barely sitting up and you can't lift your arms," Helen said.

"Mom, c'mon!"

"I am not your mother, I am your doctor," she said sternly.

That shut him up. Dr. Magnus was not someone Lex wanted to mess with. Despite her assertion, Helen unzipped the leather jacket and slid it about from his shoulders. Lex groaned with the pain. Helen rolled her eyes. The jacket was probably ruined anyway. She did have to cut off his t-shirt. There was already a spectacular bruise forming on his chest.

Helen wheeled the scan over. How technology changes. The little screen beside the bed would give her every one of his vital signs without a single wire or electrode. She flipped on the display as the scan. A small holographic image of Lex's body flickered in front of her. It showed bones, muscles, and internal organs. His vitals were slightly elevated, but that was to be expected. He had three broken ribs and a pulmonary contusions. The lacerations were deep but not too serious.

The wounds would be healed with dermal repair. The ribs would need only time if she could get him to take it easy. Her son would be fine. But he was still so pale. He was covered in his own blood. She worked quickly and gave him an IV and nasal cannula. She pulled a small dose of morphine even though he would never ask for it. She double checked the scanner results with her stethoscope.

Noah entered followed by another figure as Helen was just setting up the dermal repair. The man behind Noah was Reuben Henderson. He was Helen's newest protégé. He was big, sturdy man with a heart of gold. He was smart and quick to act. He had only been with the Sanctuary for a little over a year, and much like his predecessor, Helen had plucked out of his life and brought him into the world of myths and abnormals.

He had been a forensic anthropologist working with the police department when she had crossed paths with him during a murder investigation. The crime had ultimately been proved to have been committed by an abnormal. It had become necessary for Helen to give him the tour of the Sanctuary and he had hardly flinched. That was just Reuben, capable and unyielding.

"How is our very fragile and sickly patient?" asked Noah.

"Ah, shut up," Lex said.

"He'll be fine. The pulmonary contusions is the worst of it. How are the beetles?" said Helen. Reuben was here to answer Helen's question.

"They are just beginning to wake up. We have them secured in a fresh enclosure in the S.H.U. with an electric field so no access to wires. I'm hoping that if they can see or sense electrical currents the field with simply make everything all blurry," he said. He waved his hands in front of face to mime blurry.

Helen nodded. They had reached the same conclusions. "Good. That's what I was going to suggest."

"Clark is monitoring just to be on the safe side. Eden and I will deal with the evening feedings, which is already over due. Joanna and Henry are running diagnostics on the electric system," he said.

That was her entire team accounted for. "Also, good. I'll come find you when I'm finished here. This—" said Helen.

"Won't take long," said Lex from his bed finishing his mother's sentence.

Reuben made a face in Helen's direction that seemed to say 'boys will be boys' and left to go take care of the abnormals.

Noah had moved to his brothers bedside and was checking Lex's vitals. If Helen had had one influence over her son's medical training, it was to teach him not to rely on the scanners. He finished setting up the dermal repair, but left it for his mother. No one in the Sanctuary network was more skillful or had more practice at repairing lacerations then Helen.

She pulled on a pair of sterile gloves and injected the syringe Noah had prepared for her to numb Lex's arm. Noah handed her the lazar pen of the dermal repair. She began knitting the skin back together.

As Helen worked, she couldn't help looking up at the faces of her two son. To Helen's eyes, they were both a blend of Druitt's features and her own. They looked alike; strangers could tell they were brothers. They were both taller than Helen with strong shoulders. They both had blue eyes and dark hair. They had both inherited a long, lean face from their father and that was really what made them look so much alike.

That was where similarities stopped. Their personalities were remarkably different. Even the way they choose to style their hair was different. Lex had a buzz cut hardly half an inch long while Noah left his shaggy.

Noah was careful and reflective. He was open with his opinions and how he felt. He was a brilliant doctor, even at his relatively young age of thirty-six. He had attended the University of Oxford for both undergraduate and medical school. Helen was proud that he had chosen her alma mater, even if the school was unaware Noah Magnus was any relation to Helen Magnus, one of their first female students.

On the other hand, Lex was bold and impulsive. He was happiest when he was chasing an abnormal, or tramping home dirty and with a new bruise to show off. He was also uncannily observant; nothing escaped his attention. Helen believed her would make a skillful researcher someday, but he needed to settled down first. He was still a child and many ways.

It was hard to imagine that two people who were so different could be as close as her sons were. Helen guessed it was the eleven-year age difference. They had really been raised so far apart that most of the usual sibling bickering had never become an issue. Of course, there were still times when Lex was the annoying baby brother and Noah was the mean big brother.

Noah had left for undergraduate at Oxford University when Lex was only eight. By the time Noah finished his residency, Lex was eighteen and by then the brothers learned to be a seamless team. They trusted each others skills and knowledge. They were the Magnus boys, how could it be any different?

Helen finished the repair on Lex's arm and began working on the wound on his shoulder. Someone's phone beeped. Noah pulled his out of his back pocket.

"It's Jenny. I'll be right back. I promised I'd call her," he said.

"Go ahead, I'm almost done," said Helen.

Jenny was Noah's girlfriend and the main reason he was living in England. They were not married, but they might as well be. Helen like Jenny. She was a researcher at the London Sanctuary. She was smart with a good sense of humor and a good match for Noah. Once again, Lex's relationships were the opposite of his brother. He had never been with any one serious. He was only twenty-five; he had time.

Noah left to take the call. Helen finished the dermal repair and bandaged both wounds. "If I get the brace will you wear it?" Helen asked her son.

Lex leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, "Not a chance."

Helen shook her head. She knew that was going to be his answer. The brace won't really help, but she still wanted to him wear it. "This is not a request. Once your IV is finished, I am taking to your room and you are getting some rest."

"Can I shower first?"

"Yes, but then in bed with your laptop and a movie."

"I can follow that order."

"You better or I'm using hard restraints to tie to your bed."

"That's too kinky for me, Mother,"

Helen scoffed and gently pulled his face away with the tips of her fingers. He was still sitting up on the bed and she sat down next to him. He took her hand for a second and squeezed it. Lex didn't often share his feelings, but little gestures like a hand squeeze or a kiss on the cheek made up for it. They waited in comfortable silence as the IV dripped.

There were foot steps in the hall. Helen watched through the glass doors as Noah made his way back towards the med. lab. He was reaching for the door handle when the lights went out.

"Shit," said Lex.

Helen heard the door open and Noah shuffle into the room. "Everyone okay?" he asked.

"Noah, we haven't even moved," said Lex.

The boys were just voices in the darkness. Helen waited for the auxiliary power to kick on. The small back-up generator automatically activated after a few seconds. There was a groaning sound from the depth of the building and a few key lights blinked to life revealing Noah with his hand in the drawer containing the flashlights. The medical equipment and scanners would now have power, so would some of the well traveled hallways and, of course, the containment for all the Sanctuary patients. The perimeter security would be down and there was no EM shield.

"Henry? Joanna?" Helen said over the radio waves.

"We have lost all power from the main generator," came Joanna's voice, "The bugs may have done more damage then we thought."

Joanna was another one of the Sanctuary's resident technical genius. She worked side by side with Henry Foss, who at age ninety-one was beginning to slow down. She was brilliant, but slightly awkward. She had a strange abrupt way a speaking and looking at a person too intently. She was persistent to the point of obsession. She had found her way to the Sanctuary when she was twelve after she saw a team dealing with an infestation of Ozone beetles in her apartment building.

She had hung around the Sanctuary like it was an after-school program. She had left for long time to attend university, returned with PhDs in biology and engineering, and requested a job. Helen had little choice but to say yes. It had been a good decision; Joanna was dependable and a good friend.

"Radio will any information," said Helen. "The rest of the team," she knew each one else would be listening on the same channel, "Check containment."

There was a few seconds of chatter everyone gave their 'okay' and 'understood.' Helen turned back to her sons.

"Lex, stay here. Please."

"Mom, I can help."

"I can't only worry about one thing at a time. Stay here or I will restrain you."

"Yes, ma'am," he said after very long pause.

"Noah with me," she said.

They left Lex sitting in the med. lab and down the same hallway that led to the main lab. There was a strangle electrical charge in the air as they across the open space. Helen reached out to put a hand on Noah's arm to slow his pace. A small spark jump at the contact.

"What—" began Noah.

There was a crack of red hot light. It hit the ground like an explosion. Noah yelled and tried to pull his mother out of the path, but they were both thrown several yards. Helen rolled over and found herself looking at two figures standing in center of the room. Her mind reeled; the entire room felt like it was spinning and it had nothing to do with the impact. It have been fifty years. There was no possible way for that person to be standing in front of her.


	2. Part 2

Part 2:

"Ashley," Helen said, although it came out a more of a primal cry. She was still crouching on the floor of the main lab, and staring at two figures who materialized out of nowhere in the semi-darkness.

Helen remembered every detail of the last moment she saw her daughter. She remembered the blind hatred in Ashley's eyes that turned into recognition. She remembered the severe ponytail in Ashley's blond hair. She remembered that despite the battle being waged her daughter was unharmed. She remembered the crushing weight in her crest as her daughter disappeared.

Fifty years ago and now Ashley was standing in front of her, looking exactly the same. The scene seemed to freeze in front of her eyes. She wasn't exactly the same. Ashley was rail thin. There were gaunt hollows in her cheeks. She was standing hunched over as if she was using every ounce of energy to remain standing. Her chest was heaving. She still grasped the other source blood abnormal by the wrist.

As Helen stared, the other abnormal collapsed, and still no one moved. Helen didn't notice that Noah was staring at her. He had heard what his mother had said.

There were pounding footsteps from the direction of the medical lab and the abnormal enclosures. Reuben, and Eden came from one passage and Lex came from the other. They stopped as all three of them discovered the two figures that had appeared out of nowhere.

The noise seemed to wake Ashley. She was a wild animal caught in a trap. She began prowling back and forth still without releasing the other abnormal. Reuben drew is stunner.

"Don't! Don't hurt her!" said Helen, lunging forward.

Reuben looked up, confused. Standard procedure was to stun first and ask later when an unknown entity entered the Sanctuary. He didn't know the story; he didn't know who this blond woman was.

Noah took over. "Do it!" he ordered.

Reuben pulled the trigger. Ashley was weak. It only took a single blast. She sank to the floor. Helen dove forward. She pulled her daughter to her. There were tears in her eyes. She felt the weight of the unconscious body in her arms. Was this real?

She didn't notice the power turning back on. She didn't notice Noah kneeling beside her and checking for a pulse of the other abnormal. She was only vaguely aware when Noah muttered, "Dead."

She only realized what was going on when Lex took hold of her shoulders. "C'mon Mom, let Noah take care of her. You need to patch me up," he said gently.

Helen blinked as if she were waking up. She looked up at her youngest child. He had apparently rushed out of the med. lab so quickly he had pulled out his IV. He was bleeding.

Helen gazed around the room. Noah was still beside her. Reuben had moved closer, but still held his stunner at the ready. Somewhere in the wave of emotion running through Helen's mind, she managed to find surprise at Eden's reaction.

Eden Jones was field operative who had been bouncing between different Sanctuaries almost her entire life. Her mother was an empath from the small community living in South Africa. Eden was tall, slender with dark skin. She had inherited a little of her mother's gift. She used it to be one of the network's best trackers. She was tough, stubbornly willful and nearly incapable of backing down from a fight. She had an almost limitless number of contacts within the Sanctuary network and the black market.

Eden had back away from Ashley and other abnormal with fear in her eyes. She had a hand over her mouth. Helen guessed she was sensing some of what Ashley had been through or even Helen's pain from losing a child. Helen could do little more then register the look on Eden's face before turning her attention back to her daughter and sons.

Lex tugged on her shoulder. He might have simply lifted her, but with his broken ribs he was having trouble just bending over.

"Mom, let's go. Noah has her," he said.

Helen allowed Noah to lift Ashley in his arms. He held her like an infant with her head resting against his chest. Helen stood up and followed Noah with Lex still holding onto her shoulders. Helen pause and turned back to Reuben.

"Please make sure Henry activates the EM shield, and if he doesn't mind rigging up a remote disable. I might need it," said Helen in a controlled, level tone.

"What? Why?" he said. It was also stand procedure that the shield remain active understand any circumstance.

"I would rather her escape then to be de-molecularized by the shield. She may not understand what will happen."

"Is it really her?" asked Lex as soon as they were clear of the main lab. Lex had always been more curious about who his sister then Noah. Perhaps it was because Helen once told him how much Lex and Ashley were alike. Noah had always been more content to leave things in the past.

"I know my own daughter, like I know my sons. That is Ashley Patricia Magnus," she said forcefully.

Lex looked skeptical.

"I was never able to fully establish what exactly they did to her. I don't know who she'll be when she wakes up. The night she disappeared, it wasn't Ashley. There was only the smallest moment were she knew who she was. She used that moment to save my life," she said.

Lex took her hand and squeezed it. She was grateful. They entered the med. lab again. Noah laid Ashley on an empty bed. He immediately got out the hard restraints and bound her wrist to the side of the bed. Helen watched numbly. She did not interfere. She trusted Noah.

Lex got back up on his own bed and held his arm out for her to examine. She cleaned and bandaged the small cut where Lex's IV had been. She checked his other injuries, which could be easily reopened under the newly repaired skin. She ran another scan more or less to waste time. Lex was fine.

Helen moved to Noah's side. He had put in an IV and given her a breathing mask. Ashley's breath was still slightly labored and her heart rate was elevated, but nothing dangerous.

"She is suffering from dehydration, malnutrition, and simple exhaustion. She will be physically fine in a few weeks. Mom, I want to keep her sedated. Give her fluids and get her strength back," he said gently.

"What color were her eyes?" Helen asked. She moved closer and tentatively brushed her fingers across Ashley's cheek.

"They were blue. Mom, did you hear what I said? I want to keep her sedated for the time being."

"No, I want to talk to her," said Helen.

"Mom, you can't be serious. We don't know what she'll is capable of," said Lex.

"I'm just going to easy back on the medication, just enough to talk to her. I need to know," she said. She didn't have to explain exactly she needed to know.

Helen reached up to adjust the IV flow, where the sedative was being slowly delivered.

"Wait," said Noah. He looked to Lex. Lex left the room and returned with a stunner. Helen didn't object, but it broke her heart.

Helen waited with her sons beside her. They waited in silence. Lex took her hand again. She found it hard to breath. How could this be? Fifty years. She had never imagined, she had hoped, but known it would never happen. She had lost her daughter. It took her years to get over it. She never really got over it; she just learned to live with it. It was Noah who had taught her how. Now, Ashley lay in front of her. It was her deepest wished. But, she was faced with the idea that it wasn't Ashley anymore. She could see her daughter's face, touch her cheek and it might be just an empty shell, just her body.

* * *

Helen sat in her office. She hadn't moved in nearly four hours. She had watched without seeing as the sun had set behind the buildings of New City. The room was almost totally dark except for the small lamp on her desk that had been accidentally left on. One could say she was in shock.

The door to her office swung open. Will entered and flicked on the overhead lights. Helen closed her eyes against the unexpected bright light, but still didn't stir. Will carried a stack of books and folders stuffed with paperwork. He did not look around, but kept his focus on sorting thought the top most file. He was nearly fifty. His hair had grayed and he had gone back to wearing glasses. The creases of his forehead were pronounced as concentrated on finding the papers he was looking for.

He had almost reached the desk when Helen spoke. "Will," she said, her voice strangely hoarse.

He jumped and spun on the spot. A few papers fell from the load in his arms. "Jesus, Magnus! You're going to give me a heart attack. Why are you sitting in the dark? I didn't even know you were back," he said.

"I've been back for a few hours, actually," said Helen, which was not an answer to his question.

He deposited the load of books onto her desk and bend to gather the escaped paperwork. Helen made a decision for the first time all afternoon. She got up from the sofa by the empty fireplace and closed the door that Will had left open. He had clearly come in the office to leave something for her, but she didn't care what it was right now. Will looked around when he heard the door click.

"Magnus, what's going on?" he asked, suddenly aware that something was wrong. He had known something was different a couple of months, but had been unable to point to anything specific or raise the subject with her.

"I guess there is really no easy way to say this," she paused to settle herself once again on the sofa. Will sat in the armchair across from her, leaning forward. Helen had planned to tell him in a direct, matter of fact way. This was the situation; this is how she wanted to handle it, but she was worried she couldn't do it. How could she do it all over again? She couldn't form the words. She looked at her friend who was so worried about her, and felt the tears falling that she had tried to fight.

She buried she face in her hands. She couldn't do this again. He waited with his usual patience. Strong Will. Steady Will. He had been there to help her through it all. He would be there through this if she could only find the words to tell him.

She got up and went over to the fireplace. She pulled her handkerchief out of her pocket. She took a few deep breaths.

"Will, I'm pregnant."

He didn't move. His mouth just opened slightly. "You're what?"

"I'm going to have a baby. I'm a hundred and seventy-four and I'm going to have a baby," she said.

"Who? Whose the father?" he asked.

"Montague John Druitt," she said.

There was another long silence. Helen returned to the sofa.

"I suppose it has been well established that I have a weakness for that man," she said with a half smile. It was all she could manage.

"Helen, you have been through more than anyone has a right to and Druitt has been there with you," said Will.

"I see Ashley in his eyes sometimes. He was her father. Sometimes I just wanted to be close to that."

"It's been fifteen years. You are allowed to be happy."

"It's not about happiness. I didn't plan this," Helen said.

"Druitt has changed a lot since I first met him. He gave you comfort and that has everything to do with happiness."

"Happiness? I let him in and it just causes pain. He's not going to be father to this baby. God, Will, a baby. I don't think I can do it again. Honestly, when I was younger I pictured myself with a large family, but it just never seemed to happen. Ashley was enough. It wasn't just me anymore. It was the way her face lit up. It was all I needed. It still hurts, Will. I still expect her to be here."

"Grief is a strong emotion, but a new baby will not replace Ashley or make you love her any less," he said.

"I know. It's silly to feel that way."

"Helen, you are a wonderful mother. I have never met anyone more loving, more caring. Don't shut yourself off. You have a big heart; big enough for two children."

"I'm not worried about when the baby is here; I'm worried about what happens if he's not. The doctor did an ultrasound. I heard the heart beat. There is nothing important then this little life. I'm terrified of losing him."

"That's a risk every parent faces."

She watched him for a minute. She always felt somewhat responsible that Will was alone. There had been a few women over the years, but he never really settled. He always put the Sanctuary first, even Kate Freelander had eventually got tired of it. Helen had put a lot of responsibility on Will, more then any other protégé. She had told him over and over again that she needed him.

"But I know what it feels like. The death of a child. I don't know if I could do it again. I'm tired of out living the people I love, and I love this baby."

"I'm sorry, Magnus, but that is your reality. Most of us will live a hundred years at most. You never know, the baby might inherit your longevity. You'll be stuck with the kid forever. I mean literally, forever."

Helen smiled properly for the first time since the doctor had returned with her test results. She had been feeling strange for a few months. There hadn't been any of the same symptoms are her first pregnancy. She had awful morning sickness the first time. This time she had just been noticing strong smells and a sore back. It had only been getting sick to her stomach for the past week or so, which is what prompted the doctor's appointment. She nearly four months pregnant and she had had no idea.

"So," Will said, "You said 'he.'"

Helen smiled again, broadly this time. "It's a boy. A nurse let is slip by accident. She thought I already knew."

"We are excited about this?" he said.

"Yes, I guess we are," she said.

"Congratulation, Helen!" he leaned over and gave her a hug, "Hey, and I'm here for you every step of the way." He knew perfectly well, as did she, that Druitt really had changed in many ways, but he would still disappear for months on end.

"Thank you, Will. That means lots. It really does."

"You're gonna be okay. You know that, right?"

"I always am."

* * *

Ashley began to stir, but eyes remained closed. She moved her arms against the restraints. She mumbled something Helen couldn't understand through the breathing mask. Helen let go of Lex's hand. She pushed the breathing mask off Ashley's face and tucked it under chin. She brushed the hair off her forehead, like she had done so many times when Ashley was small. "Ashley," she said, "Ashley, open your eyes. Darling, please."

"Mom?" Ashley said in a hoarse whisper.

"Darling, I'm here. Come back to me," Helen said trying to keep the urgency out of her voice.

Ashley opened her eyes. There were clear blue, but unfocused. Helen's face was only a foot away from her daughter's, but Ashley did seem to be able to see it.

"Mom? I can't—" she said.

"Ashley, I'm right here." Helen touched her cheek again.

Ashley jerked away from the contact. She closed her eyes again. She twisted in her bed as if she was fighting against the sedative. Then, she was fighting something more real. The monitor showed an increase in her pulse rate. She began panting as if she was running.

She suddenly stopped struggling. Her eyes flew open and they were blood red. Helen only had second to register this before they changed again. They became two dark pits against her pale skin. Noah grabbed his mother's arm and yanked her away from the bed. Helen saw the fangs and claws extending. Lex fired a stunner blast and Ashley was unconscious again.

"Well, that's one lesson learned," said Noah as he cautiously replaced the breathing mask, "Don't touch her."

"This isn't a joke," Helen said roughly.

She marched out of the med. lab and slammed the door behind her. She didn't go far; she couldn't. She moved just far enough down the passage that her sons couldn't see her tears. She desperately wished Will or Big Guy were still with her; they both had passed away within months of each other about ten years. She needed someone who had known Ashley before the Cabal had turned her into…into a monster. Henry had been there; Henry knew. She knew exactly where he would be too, but she didn't want to disturb him. She had just enough sense to leave at least one person in charge of the Sanctuary and its security because at this moment, she hardly cared if the entire place burned to the ground.

She heard the door open down the hall. She knew it was at least one of her sons coming to find her, but she didn't move. Noah spotted her leaning against the wall. He walked over and pulled her into a tight hug. He lifted her feet a couple inches off the ground. Something he had done since he was a teenager and realized he was taller than her.

"I'm sorry, Mom," he said as he released her, "I just don't know how to deal with this."

"Darling, I'm as lost as you are."

"It's just I've known about her my entire life. You've told me a few stories. I've seen pictures. I've always imagined her tough and strong. Not like this."

"Not like this," Helen repeated.

"She has been this presence all my life. The big sister I always wanted to live up to. She was such a part of your work and I wanted that too. I think Lex feels the same way. We've both put her up on this pedestal; we just wanted to make you proud like she did."

Noah was thirty-six years old and this probably the most candid conversation Helen had ever had with him about his sister. She suddenly felt guilty. She took Noah's hand, a healing hand. She kissed the back of it and then pressed it against her cheek.

"Have I been a terrible mother? Have I always been thinking about someone else?" she said, tears in her eyes again.

Noah pulled her into another hug. "Never, ever, ever, ever," he said. Helen felt his voice rumbling in his chest pressed against her. "Well, maybe just a little after Lex was born."

They broke apart, each laughing a little in an awkward choked up way that only happens when someone is trying to lighten the mode.

"You are the best mother in the entire world. Both Lex and I understood that you are always very busy. That's just the way it is, but you _always_ made time for us. You drop everything for us, even though we are all grown up."

"You're not that grown up," she said.

"Cheeky monkey," Noah said, imitating her accent.

"I am the proudest mother in the world. I have been blessed with the most understanding, amazing children. I had been proud of you since you took her first step. I love you both so much. You are my support. I don't know what I would do without you."

There was another long hug. They stood in a hallway in a comfortable silence for a little longer.

"Ready to go back?" said Noah at last.

Helen nodded and followed him back to Ashley's beside.


	3. Part 3

Author Notes: Here's part 3 for you guys. Sorry about the wait. RL just gets in the way every time. Comments = love.

* * *

Helen sat in a rocking chair in the sterile, white NICU of Old City Children's Hospital. There were other people in the room. There were other infants struggling to cling to life they had only just begun. There were other terrified parents. There were nurses attending to both children and parents. There was big and bulky medical equipment helping to keep the tiny child alive. Helen noticed none of it.

All she cared about was the tiny baby boy in the incubator in front of her. This was the first time she had seen her son since he had been taken from her arms moments after his birth. He was so small. Too small. He had been born over a month early, and now every breath was a struggle for the little boy. He didn't even have a name yet.

It had been John Druitt who, once again, tried to destroy to take everything she had worked so hard to build. He had left her standing on that cobblestone street in London two centuries ago knowing she had lost her family. She had forgiven him.

He had been allowed to stay at the Sanctuary. He used it as a home base of sorts. He would stay for a few weeks and then leave for a few months. She never really knew where he went, but he was a presence in older son's life, even if Noah didn't call him 'Dad.' Noah treated him with respect, but he was Helen's son through and through.

Druitt had been disappearing for longer and longer periods of time. In fact, this time Helen had not seen him since the baby was conceived until tonight. He had entered in her lab in the middle of the night with hunger in his eyes. He was in disbelief that Helen was pregnant again, and had flown into rage. The tirade had turned into a demand to take Noah. He claimed that Helen was poising Noah's mind.

He had cornered her. She had only gone to the lab to check one small thing and had been caught for without a weapon. She would have fought to the death to get between this crazed Druitt and Noah; however, she had another child to protect. A physical attack would only put her unborn baby into harms way. She couldn't see a way out.

With that thought, she had given little resistance as Druitt had over powered her, but she managed to send a call for help over the radio. He held a knife to her throat and a hand threateningly on her rounded belly. Henry appeared and Druitt had forced him to disable the EM shield. Druitt had then pulled Helen close and violently pressed his lips against hers as he dematerialized. Helen had traveled that way too many times to count. It had never felt like that. The journey was sluggish; the darkness compressed tighter. The landing was like slamming into a wall. And Druitt missed Noah's bedroom.

The second jump was more accurate. By some miracle, Will beat Druitt there. When Helen rematerialized, dear Will was already dragging Noah out of his bed. It would be Will's sixtieth birthday next month, and it showed in his care wore face and distinguished silver hair. He had been working at the Sanctuary for almost thirty years. He was her second in command, although he no longer went on field missions. Helen trusted him implicitly; he was family. And Helen had never been happier to see him.

There was a struggled between the two men even though Druitt could teleport and Will's age, Will gained the upper hand. Druitt lay on the floor facing Will weapon inches from his chest, but Druitt tried once last time to lunge for Helen as she shielded Noah behind her. Will pulled the trigger twice. Druitt fell back, laughing, and dematerialized. Helen didn't know how he had survived the gunshots, but knew there was only a small possibility he could have survived the jump. But he had done it before.

Helen closed her eyes in an attempt to get the look on his face out of her mind. She had not had time to do more then be grateful Noah was safe before it became clear her body was telling her something was terribly wrong. She was in pain and then she started bleeding. She had immediately checked into the nearest hospital under an assumed name, an invented age and told the staff she had fallen down the stairs. She was in full labor by the time they arrived and a baby boy was delivered a few hours later.

Helen had only been able to checked for ten fingers and toes before it became clear the baby was in respiratory distress. He had been taken to the NICU and his breathing stabilized with continuous positive airway pressure by a nasal cannula.

She reached out and slipped her hand into the little portal on the side of the incubator. She found his little hand in folds of the blanket. She softly touched her son. He took hold of her finger. She gave a half smiled. He was strong. This was the most contact she had had with since the nurse took him from her arms.

How different from Noah's birth. She had disappeared to her villa in Italy with just a midwife. It was first time she really ever remembered, disconnecting herself from the Sanctuary network. There was only a phone and an ancient computer in the office at the villa. It had been Will's idea. It gave her time to be emotionally ready for a new baby. She never imagined, but once she was alone, she knew she had needed the space.

This new baby, her third child, had been a choice. She had been ready before she had even got pregnant. Druitt was the father; Helen had asked him to be. She wanted a full-blood sibling for Noah. Another person in the world who could understand what it was like to have parents like her and Druitt. He had granted her request and then come so close to taking it away again. She wanted so desperately to hold her new son. With Noah and with her daughter, she had held them to her chest for what felt like a month.

"Mrs. Jones?" asked a nurse.

Helen looked up. She had given her last name as Jones to protect her anonymity and her safety. "Yes?"

"Noah Jones here to see you. Would you like me to wheel you back to your room?" the nurse asked.

"No, can you bring him here?" said Helen.

"Only family members allow to visit the NICU," she said.

"He's my son. The other nurse said it would be okay. That's why I had my friend bring him."

"Well, there are very strict rules about who can enter the NICU. This is a sterile environment. Besides, the machines will probably be overwhelming for a young child. It may be difficult for him to understand what is happening to his baby brother," she said patronizingly.

"He's eleven," Helen said shortly. She had not seen Noah since she left the Sanctuary in a panic. She had insisted that he stay in the protection of the EM shield. She wanted to make sure he was all right and show him she was all right. She wanted him to meet his little brother.

"That's quiet an age gap," said the nurse.

"I guess it is." Little did this nurse know what an age there was between Helen's first child and her second.

"The age limit is twelve. I'm sorry."

"He'll be twelve in a few months. Please, I've had a very long day. I just want both of my children with me."

The nurse looked at her with pity, "I'll see what I can do."

Ten minutes later, the nurse reappeared with Noah in tow. He was wearing a sterile gown and a nervous smile. In the large window beyond, she could see Henry waiting in the hallway. He didn't look up.

"Here we are," said the nurse. "And if anyone asks, he's twelve."

"Thank you very much," said Helen.

"Hi, Mom," he said.

"I'd like you to meet your little brother," she said as she pulled Noah close. He leaned against her leg and she kissed him on the cheek. It was comforting to just have near by.

"Hello, little brother," he said, "He's going to be alright, isn't he? He's going to get better and we'll take him home."

"That is the hope," she answered, "He was born too early."

"Why did he do this? He was after me. Why did he do this to us?" Noah said angrily.

Helen closed her eyes for a moment. She had not had time to address this issue in her own mind. "I don't know, darling." She kissed his cheek again, "Your father is a very sick man."

"Jack the Ripper," he said.

"I thought he was better. I'm sorry I misjudge him. I'm sorry I let him put you in danger," said Helen as he placed a hand on the incubator. She spoke to both her children.

"Mom, it's not your fault. It's his."

"Please, don't be angry. Your brother needs positive thoughts."

"I can't help it. Why isn't he like normal dads?"

"Oh, Noah." Helen pulled him onto her lap. "Nothing about your life is normal. You live with abnormals. Your mother is a hundred and eighty-five years old. Bigfoot is your babysitter," she said very quietly as she shook him gently, trying to get a smile.

He did smile a little, "I don't need a babysitter."

"I can tell you that it is not entirely your father's fault."

"There is a creature that resides in him that drives his dark impulses," he said mimicking the words he had probably heard dozens of times.

She didn't know what to say that wouldn't sound patronizing. Her son was smart and capable. She was only able to give him another squeeze.

"Your brother needs a name," Helen said, "I was thinking we could pick one out together."

"I would like that," Noah said.

"You start thinking while I go talk to Henry for a moment. I'll be right back," she said.

She lifted her son from her lap and stood up. He took her seat. Ignoring the rules for postpartum mothers, she walked out of the NICU. Henry was still waiting.

"Hey Doc," he said, "How's the little guy?"

"We're playing wait and see."

"How are you?"

She tried to smile. She tried to say 'I'm fine,' but instead her eyes filled with tears. Henry gently pulled her into a hug.

"Magnus, he's gone. Druitt, I mean, he's dead," he said.

Helen pulled away. She wasn't surprised.

"They found his body in Oxford," he continued.

"Oxford," she repeated. Their old haunt. The only place that Helen and Druitt had been happy. She hoped that he had found peace, but she couldn't worry about that. She found she didn't have enough emotion left. One thing at a time, it had become her mantra. She would have to tell Noah his father was gone. She would have to deal with the fact that her new baby would never know his father. And the only man she had ever really loved was gone, although he had been gone for a very long time.

She blinked as if she were waking up, "Thank you, Henry."

"Sure," he said unsure of what he had done. "I'll stick around for awhile. You go be with your kids."

She thanked him again. She returned to the NICU. Noah was sitting on the edge of the rocking chair with his hands pressed against the incubator. She paused to watch both of her boys for a moment.

"He's dead, isn't he?" said Noah without looking up at her.

She closed her eyes before she answered, "Yes, my love."

"I heard Henry and Will talking."

"I'm so sorry. I know he wasn't the father you would have wanted—"

Noah suddenly got up and buried his face against her stomach. She felt him shaking. All she could do was hold him tightly. No matter how angry Noah claimed to be, Druitt was still his father. She stroked his hair and just held on. He finally pulled away.

"I like Alexander," Noah said.

Helen sank back to the rocking chair. She wrapped her arm around his waist, keeping him close.

"Alexander," she said.

"Yeah, like Alexander the Great. I think he needs a strong name."

"Noah, it's perfect. Can I pick his middle name?" asked Helen.

Noah nodded.

"I was thinking William."

"After Will?"

"Exactly."

"I like that. He totally saved our butts, didn't he?"

"He did," said Helen as she kissed him on the cheek. "So it's settled?"

"Yes, it's settled."

"Hello, Alexander William Magnus," Helen said quietly.

"Yeah, hey, Lexi," said Noah.

"Not Alex?"

"No, he's a Lex."

Helen kissed her older son again. They fell silent as they watching Lex's tiny chest rise and fall with each uncertain breath. 

* * *

Someone kissed Helen on the cheek. She opened her eyes, and realized she had fallen asleep in her chair. It took her a heartbeat to recognize the medical lab and her daughter lying in the bed. Memories have a way of enveloping one. She looked around to find her youngest son standing beside her chair.

"Hi, Mama. I didn't mean to wake you," he said.

She smiled gently at what he had called her. It had been his first word and taken him years of teasing from Noah to call her anything else.

"I wasn't sleeping," she said.

He made a noncommittal noise as he pulled over another chair. It had been a month since Ashley has reappeared. A month of waiting. Helen had been on a constant watch. She did all her work from Ashley's bedside and whatever she couldn't there, she left in Noah or Reuben's hands.

Ashley remained under sedation. Her body seemed to be able to metabolize the medication faster after each dose. She was waking more often, but there was never any sign of Ashley, only the vampiric abnormal. Her eyes remained red. She would become restless and by the time another sedative could administered, the fangs and claws would be out. They tried everything to bring Ashley back including injecting Helen's blood into her daughter's veins. Nothing worked. It was that minute where Ashley had called for her mother that kept Helen's hope alive.

Helen and her son were quiet. It was, for once, easier than discussing what needed to be discussed. Helen pretended to return to the paperwork she had abandoned when she had fallen asleep. She had barely worked her way through the first chart when she felt Lex's eyes on her. She waited.

"Mom, is this how it's going to be from now on?" Lex asked.

"What do you mean?" said Helen as she got up to the check the monitors. She could still feel her son's eyes on her back.

"You down here; us up there trying to hold everything together. This place barely runs without you," he said.

She turned to face him, "I haven't left."

"Yes, you have," he said, "You've checked out."

She looked at him for a long time. She heard Will's voice echoing in her head across fifty years. _Okay, even if she is in here, somehow, what are you going to do? You're going try to communicate with her? You going to try to pull her out somehow?_

She realized Lex was right. Her family, her entire team was probably thinking it, but Lex was only one brave enough to say it. She wasn't willing to give up so soon this time. She just watched him for a long time.

"I know. Maybe I had check out, but I can't just leave her. She's my daughter and—"

"And I'm your son and I need you too. I'm a Magnus just like she is. I'm not asking you to pull the plug. I'm just saying you need you to get someone else to sit by her beside because the Sanctuary needs you."

"There must be something else. Something we haven't tried. I gave up last time. She was here. I just stopped looking," Helen said.

"I'm not asking you to give up on her. I know would never do that for anyone. But, I don't think she is going to get better. We saw a _glimpse_. I saw nothing of the girl I've heard about since I was a kid. Nothing. We're just lucky she doesn't seem to be able to teleport. She just vamps outs six times a day."

Helen's eyes widened. Lex was still talking, but she didn't hear any of it. Vamp. De-vamp. Tesla's device. It was a final straw. A last hope.

"What?" he said, noticing her expression.

"There's a device. Nikola Tesla created it during one of his crazy experiments. It's designed to reverse a genetically altered vampric state."

"A genetically altered what? Mom, that's crazy."

"It's not," she said.

"Oh, Mama," he said. He didn't say anything else. He didn't have to.

"It's a last chance," she said after awhile, "I can't give up."

"Do what you think you need to do," he said in a resigned sort of way.

She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "Would you stay with her, please?" she asked.

Lex closed his eyes for moment, "Of course."

"Thank you," she said as she disappeared through the door.

She went straight to Henry's lab. She found him enthroned in his usual chair in front of the large row of computer monitors. He could control just about everything from his cave, which was good because his mobility was limited. His hair had greyed; he had deep wrinkles around his eyes. He walked heavily with a cane and found it harder and harder to transition out of his HAP form.

"Henry?" Helen said.

He was focused on one of the screens and did not immediately turn around. He finished typing something and then spun his chair so he could face her. She hadn't seen him in a few days. He had noticeably been avoiding the medical lab for the past month.

"What can I do for you, Doc?" he asked.

"Tesla's de-vamp device."

He squeezed an eye shut as tried to remember, "The thing he hid in the wine bottle when he turned those kids in vampires?"

"Exactly. Please, tell me we still have it?"

Henry screwed up his face again. "We should," he said slowly, "I don't see why we would have gotten rid of it. You've hung onto all of the strange devices."

It was true. Tesla had been in and out of the Sanctuary network until about four years ago when he had disappeared completely. Helen knew he would be back at some point. She waited as Henry looked back to his computer and began running a search.

"Are you going to use it on Ashley?" he asked.

"That's the plan. I was hoping to get your help," she said.

"Of course. And I'm sorry I haven't been around. It's hard for me to see her like that and I'm kinda embarrassed by how old I've gotten."

Helen didn't say anything, but gave him a sad smile that he didn't see with his concentration on the screen in front of him.

"According to the catalogue, it's in the catacombs under in the northern corner," he said.

"Thank you, Henry. Would be please have Clark or Eden meet down there to assist in the search?" said Helen.

"Of course," he said.

Helen moved towards the elevator. She had a feeling this might be her last chance. Even with the research her team had recovered from abandoned Cabal sites, she had next to no real knowledge of what had actually been done to her daughter. This might be her last chance, but it might also kill Ashley.

"Bring on the hail Mary," she said to herself as the doors slid open.

She looked up to see Clark already in the elevator. "Hello, Dr. Magnus," he said.

Clark was another field operative, essentially Eden's partner. He was Japanese, but had moved to the States to learn English and had never left. He reminded Helen of Kate Freelander. He was a good fighter and smart, but a bit rough both in and out of the field. His formal speech was the only contract. It was a bit strange to be consistently called 'Dr. Magnus' by a man who nearly always wore torn jeans, t-shirts and spiked hair. He was also the only member of the team who didn't live at the Sanctuary. Helen had no idea what he did during his free time. He was also willing to work hard and that's all really mattered to Helen.

"Hello, Clark," said Helen.

"Mr. Foss has told me you have requested my assistance," he said.

"Yes, I'm looking for one of Tesla device. There is quite a bit of stuff down here."

The doors opened again. She had let the catacombs go in the past few years. They were dark and dank and disordered. She explained was the device looked like and they began to search. It didn't take as long as Helen had expected. No one ever came down here. The once neatly organized boxes and artifacts had not fallen into that much disorder.

"Is this the device we are searching for, Dr. Magnus?" came Clark's voice from the gloom.

She made her way over to him and gingerly took the cylindrical tube from Clark.

"Yes, this is precisely what we are looking for," she answered, "Thank you, Clark. You may return to your usual duties."

"You are welcome, Dr. Magnus," he said as they walked back to the elevator.

They both got off at the level of the main lab. Clark went one way and Helen went back to Henry's lab.

"Henry, can you run a diagnosis? And it needs a power source." she asked.

"Right," said Henry, as he got heavy to his feet.

"Please, be careful with it. I may be putting all my eggs in one basket here."

"Of course."

She couldn't sit still. She shifted back and forth from one foot to another as Henry began to run the tests. After about thirty seconds, she moved to the hall and started pacing. The nervous energy was threatening to over take her. Could her daughter come back to her today? Three healthy children. It didn't matter that her oldest was now her youngest. Ashley. Noah. Lex. She repeated the names in her mind. She had spent many years trying to not to put the three together. Ashley had been. Noah and Lex were her present.

It had been half an hour when Helen turned to see Henry walked towards her leaning on his cane. "As far as I can tell, it's good to go."

He handed over the glass tube that was now attached to a small generator. Fifty years ago Tesla had used the Sanctuary's generator to power the de-vamper, but Henry had managed just the small generator with the change in technology.

"Thank you, Henry. Thank you so very much."

He walked to the elevator. "Good luck. I'll be monitoring from up here," he said.

She nodded as the doors slid closed. She heard raised voices as soon as she the elevator opened on the lower level. She couldn't make out the words until she pushed open the door to the med. lab.

"Lex, it's not going to work. It's completely—" Noah stopped speaking abruptly.

"Mom, this is crazy," he said without missing a beat.

"I've been told," she said trying to appear relaxed.

"As you've pointed out, this is not a joke."

"I'm not laughing. I'm perfectly aware this is not a joke. This is a last-ditch attempt to save my child," she said.

"Mom, you are going to kill her." Helen suddenly understood; he was just a brother being protective of his sister.

"I have to try. She would hate this. She would hate that I'm letting her live this way."

"You've always told me that she was a fighter. You can't just give up!"

"Noah, let her try. It's just a shock, right?" said Lex.

"Do you know what 'just a shock' can do to a human heart?" Noah said.

"No, I don't, Dr. Magnus."

"Boys, please. This is not about who is right and wrong. It's about trying to bring your sister back," said Helen.

"This debate is never going to end," said Lex.

He snatched the de-vamper from his mother's hands and planted it against Ashley's chest.

Ashley had been heavily sedated, but her eyes flew open and her back arched. She cried out. She rocked back and forth as if she was having a seizure. The monitors went crazy. It was all over in a less and then a minute.

Helen jumped forward as soon as Ashley stopped moving. Her heart was in her throat. This is not how she would have done it.

"Ashley?" Helen called as she brush a lock of hair away from her daughter's forehead.


	4. Part 4

Author's Notes: As always, sorry about the wait. RL is always crazy. This part is a little short, but I thought I'd give you something. Let me know what you think. Comments = love.

* * *

Part 4:

"Mommy?" came a small voice.

Helen looked up from the stack of paperwork on her desk. Noah stood in the doorway. He was still in his uniform. He must have just got off the bus from school. He had turned eight last week and was very insistent that he was now old enough to walk from the corner by himself. She had the Big Guy watch from an upper window anyway.

"Hello, sweetheart," she said.

She got up from her chair, abandoning her work. Helen reserved the time from when Noah got home form school until four when he started his homework. Everyone in the Sanctuary and even some people in the extended network knew that Helen was only reachable for emergencies during this time.

"How was school?" Helen asked as she slid an arm around Noah's shoulders. She leaned over and kissed him on the top of his head. She was once again struck by how tall he was. He was only eight, but he had almost reached her shoulders.

"It was fine," he answered.

With her son still tucked under her arm, Helen turned towards the kitchen. She didn't even need to ask. Noah wanted a snack. They walked down the passage Will stuck his head out of his office, "Hey Magnus, can you—" he caught sight of Noah and stopped mid-sentence.

"Hiya Will," said Noah.

"Hey, Noah," Will said, "How was school?"

"It was fine," he repeated.

"What is it you need?" asked Helen.

"Never mind. It will keep," said Will.

"Are you sure?" said Noah.

"I am very sure," answered Will.

"Thanks, Will. I come find you in about an hour," said Helen.

He nodded and disappeared back into his office.

Helen glanced down at Noah. She was slightly puzzled by her son's offer. He usually jealously guarded this time with his mother. She was always available when he got home from school and to tuck him into bed. Those were his times and no one better interfere.

"Is there something on your mind?" Helen asked as they entered the kitchen.

Noah didn't answer right away. He fiddled with one of the stools surrounding the large island in the middle of the room. "Maybe," he said at last, "Can I go get something?"

"Of course," said Helen.

"And you won't get mad?"

She could think of anything that he could show her that would make her angry, "Of course not."

"Okay, I'll be right back," he said, dashing out the kitchen.

She waited until his running footsteps had faded before putting a kettle on the stove. She had cut an apple into slice by the time he returned. In his arms were two huge leather-bound photo albums. They were so large he could barely get his arms around them. He managed to shove them onto the kitchen island. He opened the first one somewhere in the middle and pointed to one of the pictures.

"Whose that? She's in a bunch of these pictures," he asked.

Helen filled her mug with tea and carried the plate of apples to the island. She knew who it would be. She perched on the stool next to her son, then looked at the image. It was Ashley, of course. She was about sixteen or seventeen and standing in front of an enormous tree in a tropical rainforest. Her arms were spread wide to emphasizing how big the trunk really was. She was slightly crossed-eyed with a goofy grin on her face that clearly said she hadn't wanted to be the picture.

Helen sighed. She had been waiting for this question for a few years. She had never tried to hide her daughter from Noah, but she had never felt the need to tell him. It was not exactly a topic for bedtime stories.

She flipped a couple of pages of the photo album and scanned the images. The pictures weren't all of Ashley. They were just images of life at the Sanctuary, although that included many of Ashley. There were many of her in group shots with members of Sanctuaries across the network. Ashley wasn't the only one who was now gone.

Helen settled on a photo of Ashley sitting by a campfire somewhere in the desert. She wasn't looking at the camera. She was gazing into the flames with blanket wrapped around her shoulders and a mug in her hands. The moon and stars shown behind her. Helen couldn't remember why they had been in the desert, but she remembered taking the photo. The night had been breathtaking. They had stayed up talking until the fire died and then slept under the stars.

Helen ran a hand across the photo. She tried to think of a way to tell Noah. She decided there wasn't a way to do it gently. He was looking up at her expectantly.

She put an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close. She kissed him on the top of the head, "Noah, my love, that is Ashley, your sister."

"What'd you mean? I don't have a sister," said Noah as he wriggled out of his mother's arms.

"You did. Baby, she died. Long before you were born."

"Mommy, I don't get it." There was an edge to his voice. He was trying not to get upset.

"You remember that I'm actually much older than most people. I have lived two or three lifetimes."

"I know," he said with his brow creased, "You're an abnormal."

"Well, one of those lifetimes included Ashley. She had been gone fifteen years before you were born."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't mean to keep it from you. I promise that is the last thing I wanted to do," she said and, for once, it was true. She hadn't tried to keep this secret from her son. Ashley was in the pictures in her office and the little desk in her bedroom, but there were so many faces. Helen guessed he had never singled hers out until he had found the albums where the images of just Helen and her daughter were so prevalent.

"Why then?" he demanded.

"She died when she was young and very suddenly. It's hard for me to talk about her," she said with a deep sigh.

"Why is it hard?"

"Because I miss her so much, darling. It makes me so sad to think of everything that's she had missed out of life, like meeting her little brother. Noah, she would have loved you so much."

His bottom lip was quivering. "What happened to her?" he asked.

"That is a something I will tell you when you are older."

"Why? I wanna know."

Helen shook her head, "When you are older." She couldn't explain to her eight year old son how his sister had been kidnapped, experimented on and then sacrificed herself. She couldn't explain that it was the worst time in Helen's life and that dark time had only really ended when she had held Noah for the first time.

Helen watched Noah for a few seconds. She had never seen him look so downcast. He had just gained something and had it taken away in the same instant. He was staring at the same image that had caught Helen's attention. She pulled the album closer and took the photo out of the protective plastic.

"I'm sure we can find a frame for this if you want to keep it in your room," she said at last.

"I'd like that, but you really won't tell me."

"Not today or tomorrow," said Helen, "I can tell you what she was like and so can Will, Henry or the Big Guy. They all knew her."

"No, I want you to tell me."

She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, "Alright, I can do that."

Helen opened the second album. It contained the earlier images. Almost half of it was fill with picture of before Ashley was born. She stopped flipping pages when she found an image of herself in Egypt. She was overlooking an archeological dig. The way the wind had been blowing had wrapped her shirt against her rounded belly. The next page had a picture of Helen holding two plump baby fists in her as Ashley practiced walking. Her daughter was probably only eight or nine months old.

"Your sister, Ashley Patricia Magnus, was strong, independent, stubborn, exceedingly resilient, and above anything else, brave…"

* * *

For the first time in a month, Ashley didn't shy away as her mother's fingers touched her forehead. The monitors had return to their baseline. Her heartbeat was steady. Her breathing calmed. She seemed more peaceful then she had since she appeared. Helen was concentrating on her daughter, but she could hear her sons talking.

"Jesus, Lex, what's wrong with you?" said Noah.

"I don't know. No one was doing anything. Someone needed to act!" Lex said.

"Not like this! This should've been done in a control way. We had no idea what this will do. You can be so impulsive," said Noah.

Helen looked up. Lex was still holding the de-vamper and looking slightly guilty. Noah was right, of course. Lex had acted rashly, but what done was done. "Please, boys, not now," said Helen in a gentle tone. Her sons fell silent. Helen's focus shifted back to Ashley.

"Did it take this long before?" asked Lex.

"No, it didn't," said Helen.

Noah started to speak again when Ashley mumbled something. It was the most coherent thing she had done in a month. Helen leaned closer. She brushed the back of her hand against Ashley's cheek.

"Ashley? Darling, open your eyes," Helen said.

She stirred. She tried to lift her hand against the restrains. She opened her eyes. They were clear blue, but unfocused. Her eyes rolled back and she exhaled deeply. She was waking from a profound sleep.

"Mom," said Ashley in a hoarse voice.

Helen took a deep breath, "Darling, I'm here."

"Mom," she said again and then tried to clear her throat.

"It's alright, my love. You're safe."

"No, I've been asleep too long," she said in a great rush. She took a deep gulp of air. "Where am I?"

She stared fiercely at her mother. Helen looked around the medical lab. Fifty years was a long time. There had been a lot of changes to the labs in that amount of time.

"You're in the Sanctuary. You're safe," Helen said again.

She groaned and she tried to lift her arms. She noticed in restraints. She tried to fight against them.

"Heart rate is increasing," said Noah quietly. He and Lex had both stepped back from Ashley bed.

"Where am I?" Ashley repeated, slightly panicked.

"Ashley, you are safe. You're in Sanctuary. I've been gone for a long time. You just need to rest."

"No, I've been asleep too long," Ashley said.

"Easy, sweetheart," said Helen, brushing hair off her daughter's forehead.

Ashley leaned into the touch. "Mommy, help me," said Ashley in a whimper.

"I'm trying, Ashley. I'm right here."

"Why aren't you helping?"

"Shh," soothed Helen.

"Mom, her heart rate is getting dangerously high," said Noah.

"I know," said Helen. She could hear the monitors beeping.

Ashley's breathing was heavy. She was talking incoherently; mumbling under breath. She was trashing against the restrains trying to free herself. She needed to calm down. Helen was unsure what added adenine in her daughter's system would do.

"What did you do to me?" barked Ashley suddenly.

"Mom, you have to—" began Lex.

"I know; I know," said Helen. With every ounce of will, she reached up and increased the flow of the IV. She sent Ashley back into the darkness. Ashley stabilized.

"Sleep, my child," she said breathlessly.

She looked up. She moved to her youngest son. She cupped his face in her hands.

"You did a good thing. It was stupid and you should never do anything so rash again. But, I'm so glad you did," she said, tears in her eyes. She let him go and stretched out a hand to Noah. She stood in between them, holding one of each her son's hands. "Together. All three of you."


	5. Part 5

Author's Notes: I have to say the usual inadequate apologies for taking so long. I finally have Part 5 for you. It's summer, so I hope to get the next part up sooner, but I make no promises. Some days I write six pages and then months will go by before I can finish it. Thanks for the patience. Comments = love.

* * *

Part 5:

Sleep. Genuine, untroubled sleep. It wasn't drug induced unconsciousness, but restful. Rest that Ashley desperately needed. As the final dose of sedative wore off, Helen had ushered her sons from the medical lab. She had pulled the privacy curtain and dimmed the lights. Her daughter had awoken gently a few hours ago. She had looked around the room in confusion until she found Helen's watchful eyes. Helen had removed the restraints. Ashley didn't say anything, but she had relaxed and fallen back to sleep.

That had been four or five hours ago, Helen wasn't entirely sure. She had been dozing in the uncomfortable lounge chair. The weeks of little sleep, constant worry, and fleeting moments of hope had taken their toll. Helen needed rest too; she hadn't slept anywhere, but this chair in at least a week. But, as always, her child came first.

Helen cricked her neck back and forth. She got up to check the scanner, more or less just to stretch her legs rather than actually needing to examine the readings. They were all normal. She turned back to Ashley. Her daughter's chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm. Helen remembered watching Ashley sleep when she was a little girl. Helen usually checked in on her children before going to sleep herself, even now though none of them were actually children anymore.

She settled back in the chair at Ashley's bedside and pulled a file from the ever-present stack sitting on the floor. It was three or four o'clock in the morning. The Sanctuary was quiet. There was the odd rumble or squawk from the enclosures off the main lab, but overall the great house was remarkably calm. The days here were hectic, to say the least, but somehow these few hours just before dawn were always still.

Helen finished reading the file and jotted down a few notes. She placed the file on the floor and reached for another one. She sat up to find Ashley looking at her through sleepy eyes. Helen's breath caught in her chest. It had been fifty years since she had seen that look.

"Mom," said Ashley in a calm, level voice, "What happened?" She sounded like a little kid being awakened from a long nap.

"Oh, Ashley, it is so good to hear your voice," said Helen. "You have been…asleep for a long time."

"I don't remember," Ashley said. She tried to sit up, but merely flopped back against her pillow. She was too weak. The IVs and drips had given her nutrients, but had done nothing to renew her strength.

"That may be a blessing," murmured Helen.

"Mom, I don't understand," said Ashley. She used what little strength she had to rub her eyes.

"I know. I'm sorry. This is just unreal," said Helen, letting her emotions get the best of her.

She reached over and cupped Ashley's face in her hands. There were tears in her eyes. The entire scene felt like a dream. There had been many such dreams over the years; Helen was scared she was going wake up. Ashley looked worried. She was confused and still unsure where she was or what had happened. Helen knew she was doing little to ease that confusion.

Helen took a deep breath. Once again, she was faced with telling someone she loved something that would devastate them. She wanted to spare her daughter the truth. Fifty years was along time. Ashley had missed so much. Helen had to tell her daughter that she had moved on. Ashley had two brothers. The world had kept turning.

There had been a period of time where Helen had lived in the past; she had been incapable of looking forward. But, Helen _had_ moved on. Ashley _had_ been dead. Helen felt guilty for giving up the search, but she had done everything she could. It had been a freaky accident that had brought Ashley back to life.

She was grappling with the words when someone knocked on the glass door beyond the curtain. She sighed. She had asked for privacy. It was a gentle knock. She could easily ignore it. She let go of Ashley and got to her feet. She could delay the moment by another minute. Ashley was scared and confused, but it was better than being lost in time.

"I will right back," Helen said.

"Don't leave," said Ashley before she could stop herself.

Helen squeezed Ashley's hand briefly. "I'll be just beyond the curtain. I'm not leaving."

Ashley looked worried, but didn't say anything else. Helen slipped around the curtain without opening in. Lex stood on the other side of the door, patiently waiting. She pulled the door open, but didn't step into the hallway.

"Is she?" he asked.

"Yes, but only just. I'd like to get back."

"Okay, M—Magnus," he said with hesitation, "I brought these." He held up two large leather bound photo albums. "They always helped me. I thought they might do the same. It's proof, ya know?"

"It's a good idea. Thank you," said Helen. She now squeezed her son's hand and took the albums. One was significantly more worn than the other. This was the one containing the photos of Ashley. Her sons had poured over it for hours when they were small. The other was filled with pictures of the boys growing up.

He nodded resolutely and marched away. The weight of the albums in her hands matched the heavy feeling in her chest. Lex needed his mother right now just like Ashley did. Helen had picked Ashley for the time being. She knew he didn't see it like that or that was even at all true, but it didn't stop her feeling that way. For once, she found it impossible to focus on more than one thing, well two. She needed to get Ashley well and keep herself together.

He disappeared around the corner and Helen returned to Ashley's bedside.

Ashley had closed her eyes and a grim frown crossed her face. Helen adjusted the bed so Ashley could sit upright. Ashley immediately look up at her mother when she felt the movement.

"Who was that?" she asked, sounding slightly panicked.

"That will come," answered Helen.

"What are those?"

"Photo albums," said Helen simply.

"Why?"

"You have been gone for a long time."

"How long?"

"What is that last thing remember?"

Ashley forced her eyes closed again, "I don't know. I don't want to know."

"Sweetheart, you are safe," Helen said.

Ashley began to cry. Her shoulders shook and clear tears slid down her cheeks. Helen didn't hesitate. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around her daughter. It was what she had wanted since her daughter appeared. The albums fell to the floor with a loud thud. Ashley tried to jerk away at the sound, but Helen held on. It could have been hours they stay like that.

Slowly, Ashley stopped shaking "I've been lost," she said through uneven breathes, "I just kept moving in the darkness."

"I'm so sorry," Helen said and then repeated several times.

"I remember Will going missing and a monster in a warehouse," said Ashley as another long period of silence.

Reluctantly, Helen pulled away from her child, but kept holding her hand. She couldn't remember what Ashley was talking about. Fifty years was a long time.

"Will going missing?" Helen asked.

"Will's friend went missing and then Will. The Cabal did experiments on him. There was a fight club and your father."

With the last detail, Helen remembered. Before she could say anything, Ashley asked, "How long ago was that?"

With another deep sigh, Helen looked at her daughter and answered her question, "It's been fifty years."

* * *

"Mom, I found him," Noah's voice came over the radio.

Helen sighed heavily. It was about time. "Where is he?"

"In the secondary medical lab on the third level. Can you go and get him, so I can go?"

Helen rolled her eyes even though her son couldn't see her. He was in Henry's lab using the sensors to find his little brother. Noah was eighteen and all he wanted to do is get out of the house.

"The med. lab is empty?"

"Yes, except for Lexi."

"Alright then. Be home back midnight."

"One?"

"Fine."

"Thanks, Mom. I love you."

"Love you too."

The radio went quiet. Helen sighed again. She moved out of the library where she had been searching for younger son. In recent months, Lex had become Helen's wild child. Her son was seven years old and intelligent and precocious and knew how to get his mother's attention.

She was leaving in a couple of days for a conference in Greece and Lex did not want her to go. He had figured out pretty quickly that if he hid, Lex could distract her from her work for at least the afternoon. Sanctuary was a huge house with levels below the surface and it also sat on enormous grounds and Lex was very good at hiding. He was clever enough not to pick the same place each time. The Sanctuary was also full of dangerous creatures and instruments.

Helen, Noah and anyone not too busy would be recruited to search for the missing little boy. It would be an afternoon of worry and annoyance. He had been gone longer than usual. He usually got bored and made his presence known. They had never had to use the sensors before. If something happened to Lex while he was crawling around somewhere…Helen shook her head. He was fine. He was hiding in the med. lab.

However, this had to be the last time. If Lex didn't seriously agree to stop hiding, she was going to have to reactive the security protocols that sealed the abnormals and the labs from the rest of the house. New codes would have to be given to the staff, so only they could have access. That would at least limit Lex to the living quarters, the library and a few offices rather than the entire house. She didn't want to have to do it. She wanted her children involved in the Sanctuary network; she wanted to trust her children.

The elevator door opened onto the third level. This level was little used. It was just below the main lab and had many of auxiliary locations. There was overflow for the medical labs, extra enclosure used for experiments, more empty lab space. The lights in the passage blinked on as she stepped out of the lift.

Helen turned the corner towards the medical labs. The light from the main passage spilled down the hallway, but the lights did not come to life. She waved her hand in front of the sensor as she walked passed and still nothing. She made a mental note to tell Henry.

The door to medical lab was half closed and Helen pushed it open. The room was also semi-dark; a single small lamps on a side table was lit. She found Lex almost at once. He sat between two of the beds, beneath the only source of light in the room. His legs were tucked against his chest with his face buried in his arms that rested on top of his knees. Something was wrong.

"Lexi?" Helen called gently.

He looked up immediately. His face was blotchy as if he had been crying. "Mama," he said. She could see the relief wash over him.

She crossed the room before he could move. She knelt down beside him. He released his grip on himself and put his arms around her neck. "Are you hurt?" she asked.

"Nope," he said into her shoulder.

All her fears, and more importantly for Lex, her annoyance melted. They let go. Helen shifted so she could sit on the floor next to her son. "Lexi, what happened?"

"I got trapped. The light in the hallway won't turn on. I couldn't see anything and I couldn't reach any of the main light in here. Mama, I'm sorry. I won't do it again."

"You won't do what?" she asked, sternly.

"I won't hide anymore. I promise."

"I'm glad to hear that. If you do this again, however, you will not be allowed in the labs anymore. I will put the codes back on the elevator."

"No, Mama, don't do that. I won't I promised."

She kissed him on the forehead, "I know you won't. I am just making sure you understand the consequences. Do you remember what that word means?"

"It's what happens after you do something, right?"

"Exactly. Now, do you see those red buttons beside each bed?" she said and he nodded in response, "They call for help. They are only for emergencies, but you can use them if you get trapped again."

"And you'll come?"

"And I will come. No matter where you are or what happens or how old you get, if you call me, I will come. I promise."

"Really?"

"Absolutely. You could be on another planet and I would still come. Do you know why?" Helen said as she put her arm around Lex's shoulders.

"Why?"

"Because I love you. I love you so much I can't even put it into words."

"I love you too, Mama," he said quietly.

"Shall we go tell Henry you've been found?"

"Yeah, okay," he said.

Helen got up and offered a hand to her son. He took it and she pulled him to his feet. He didn't let go.

* * *

Ashley hadn't said anything in over an hour. She had hardly reacted at her mother's words. She had opened her mouth in surprised, leaned back against her pillows and turned away from Helen's gaze.

Helen had waited. She had held Ashley's hand and waited. Ashley had finally spoke, still without looking at her mother.

"Everyone I knew is dead," she paused, "Expect for you." She began listing every head of house, every scientist, every field operative she could think of. She ended with, "And Will and the Big Guy and Henry—"

Helen interrupted, "Henry is still with us. He's ninety-one, but because he is a H.A.P. he'll be around for a while. I'll have him come down later if you'd like."

Ashley didn't answer.

"Sweetheart, there is something else." Ashley looked back towards Helen. Her eyes asked if anything else in her world could change. And Helen knew there was something that could. "I've had more," she paused, "You have two brothers."

Ashley still didn't react.

Helen continued, "They're good men. Noah is thirty-six year older. He's a doctor in England. Alexander, though most people call him Lex, is twenty-five. He works here as a—"

Ashley finally seemed to wake up, "He's twenty-five! Twenty-five! I'm twenty-four. I don't remember anything. Nothing has changed for me. It's like I went to sleep and everything, I mean everything, changed. It's like some sort of nightmare. I came out of the darkness to this." She was shouting and crying; taking deep breathes in between each sentence, "I remember. I remember the source blood. I remember what they did to me. I can't. I can't."

She was hyperventilating. Helen let go of her daughter's hand and reached for the oxygen. Ashley grasped at the mask. Her chest heaved, but slowly, with the breathing mask and Helen's soothing, she returned to normal.

"Ashley, my sweet girl, I know this is a lot to handle. I wish this wasn't true. I wish I could change things. I would do anything for you. But this is the reality and I'm so sorry. We thought you were dead. I missed you with every heartbeat. I could only live by the words my father taught me and I passed on to you: Nos most amitto vivo en," Helen said as silent tears rolled down her cheeks.

With a shaky hand, Ashley wiped her own tears from her eyes, "I'm not mad. I promise. I'm just…I just don't know what to feel. I think I'm scared more than anything else." Helen knew for Ashley to admit that out loud meant she was terrified.

"I know it is a hard feeling to fight, but you are safe. Not everything has change. I'm still here and I still love you," said Helen. She took Ashley's hand again.

"I love you, too."

"I'm not going to push you to do anything that you are not ready for. We are going to take this a step at a time. The photo albums contain pictures of your brothers. They are here if you wish to look at them, but not now," Helen collected the albums off the floor and placed them on the side table, "You need to rest. Just sleep, darling."

Ashley's eyes were already beginning to close. She had exhausted all of her strength. Helen got up from her chair to readjust the bed.

"Don't go," said Ashley, misinterpreting the motion.

"Never, Ashley. You need to sleep and I will be here when you wake. I promise."


	6. Part 6

Author's Notes: [Insert apology for taking so long] Here's a nice long part for you. Thanks for being patient. Comments = love.

* * *

Part 6:

The scene was unchanging to Helen's eyes. She and Ashley were stuck in a strange half waking twilight. Ashley would sleep and Helen would sit vigil. Helen did a little work on her computer tablet, but for the most part she would watch.

Ashley was unable and Helen unwilling to push forward. She didn't want to make matters worse. Ashley was traumatized and she was remembering. So far, she had shown no signs of still being able to teleport, but what if Helen forced her to move too quickly? Could a flight response cause that to change? It had been days; something had to change.

Helen set down her tablet. She reached for one of the photo albums Lex had brought her what seemed like years before. Ashley acted as if she had not noticed the movement. Helen waited with the album on her lap. She gave Ashley time to adjust to what was going to happen next. Helen realized she must treat her daughter like a newcomer to the Sanctuary. Patience was the most important rule. It would take a single step at a time.

"Ashley," Helen said at last.

Her daughter turned her head to looking hauntingly at Helen. There was little life beyond her blue eyes. They were deadened by pain, loss, fear, confusion. Helen was determined to restore the spark that she remembered.

"Do you want to take a look at this? Maybe get to know your brothers little bit. We need to talk about some of the things that have happened since—"

"Since I died," interrupted Ashley in a flat tone, "No, I don't think we need to talk. I don't want to get to know my brothers. I want to sleep." She closed her eyes again.

"Well, there is little choice," said Helen, "I won't compel you to do anything you are not prepared for, but this is just a photo album. It's the two of us and pictures. The other is fill with pictures of you. We could look at those if you like, although I'm afraid it's rather worn. The boys spent a lot of time studying it when they were younger."

Ashley opened her eyes again, "They knew about me?"

"Yes, of course," answered Helen, "I never forgot a single moment. Noah used to beg for stories about you at bedtime and he passed them onto Lex. They know a great deal about our adventures. They wanted to be just like you, especially Lex. He is too, in a lot of ways."

"Never forgot," repeated Ashley, half to herself.

"Never. Life moved forward. I had my sons and my work, but you were always missing."

"Brothers," said Ashley as if the concept had finally become a fact.

"They are your full siblings, by the way. Druitt is their father as well," Helen said.

"Is he still alive?"

"No," said Helen shaking her head, "He died the day Lex was born."

"The same day?" asked Ashley.

"He attempted to kidnap Noah. I was pregnant with Lex and he got physical. It caused me to go into early labor. I nearly lost Noah and Lex that day. It was one of worst days of my long life; second only to the day I believed you died."

"I don't want to talk about this," Ashley snapped. She rolled away from her mother as best as she could.

Helen felt they had made some progress. They had finally at least touched on the subject of the present. Helen never really talked about her pregnancy with Ashley; she understood it would be strange to listen her talking about giving birth to brother Ashley didn't know. She let Ashley process with the new information. Once again, she needed nothing more than patience to bring Ashley, the brave, stubborn, beautiful woman, back to her.

Helen would wait. She opened the photo album and began flipping through the images of her sons. She caught Ashley watching her. Without saying a word, she moved the album to the bed were Ashley could see. On the open page were the images of Lex's as an infant. Noah was holding his baby brother wrapped in blanket.

Helen sat back. She let Ashley looked through the pages. She turned the pages slowly. She examined each and every frame while saying nothing. She finally stopped on a series of photos from Noah's medical school graduation.

The first image was of Noah standing on his own in his cap and gown and holding his diploma. He stood tall with a straight back and strong shoulders. In the background were swiping lawns at outside Oxford University. Even seeing the photo now, Helen was filled with pride.

The second photo was of both her son and one of Helen's favorites. She had a larger, framed version in her office. It was taken while they were still at the graduation. Lex, despite being only fourteen and a half a foot shorter than his brother, had his arm thrown around Noah's shoulder. In his other hand, Lex had stolen the diploma. Both men had broad grins on their faces.

The final picture of on the album page was similar to the other two. It was a more candid photo of Helen with Noah. She was dressed in a dark green cocktail dress and holding Noah's cap under the crook of her arm. She was reaching up and placing a gentle kiss on her son's cheek.

"So, this is them," said Ashley, "My brothers."

"Yes, sweetheart," Helen said, "Well, those pictures are ten years old, but those are the Magnus boys."

Ashley didn't say anything. She seemed exhausted. Just expending the energy to turn the album's pages had worn her out. That wasn't including the emotional impact of finally beginning to face she new reality. She was losing the fight to keep her eyes open. Helen would let her rest.

"Sleep, baby. We will keep talking when you wake up," said Helen.

Ashley nodded weakly and eased back against her pillow. Helen pulled Ashley blonde bangs away from her face. She stood half way out of her seat to place a kiss on her daughter's forehead. Ashley leaned towards the touch.

Helen settled back in her chair for what she expected to be another few hours of dozing. She pulled her tablet from between the seat cushion and the armrest and proceeded to stare at it for nearly twenty minutes. She was trying her best to stay awake. If she could just do a little work, maybe an hour's worth, then she would sleep.

Helen got up. She paced back and forth a few times. She tried to shake the fatigue from her body. Maybe she needed a short walk. She would do a lap around the passage that led from the medical lab to the main lab. She was hesitant to leave Ashley, but she would be gone for two or three minutes at the most. Ashley was fast asleep by now; it had only taken her a few moments.

Helen slipped around the privacy curtain and moved to the door. She was emboldened by the progress they had in that last few hours. She was beginning to trust her decisions again. The bombardment of 'what if' question that had been playing in her mind for the days and weeks was beginning to ease. What if she had kept looking fifty years ago? What if she had checked the system one more time? These questions didn't have answers.

She marched down the hall and she relished even this small amount of activity. She had been nearly stationary for days. She looked up and realized she hadn't stopped at the entrance to the main lab. She was already half way across it when she noticed. She continued forward as she decided just as suddenly that she wanted to see her sons. She knew one or both would be waiting in Henry's lab along with Henry himself.

She rounded the corner and saw more faces than she expected waiting in the lab. Henry and Lex had their heads together in front of a computer screen. Noah, and to Helen's surprise, his girlfriend Jenny were sitting on stools at the worktable. They were talking quietly. He stopped when he saw Helen standing in the doorway, "Mom."

Everyone immediately snapped to attention. They all started talking at once. She couldn't understand jabber of voices. She could feel the exhaustion finally beginning to overtake her; as if by simply leaving Ashley's hospital room she giving over to it. She must have just stood there looking confused because Noah got up from his stool. He moved closer and touched her arm.

"Mom?" he asked.

She looked around as if she had only just noticed him. She sighed deeply, "I've been talking to a ghost." Her knees gave way slightly and she staggered sideways. Noah was already there. He grabbed her elbow.

"I'm fine; I'm fine," she said despite the fact she was clearly not fine.

Noah helped her onto the stool he had just vacated. He didn't have a chance to begin questioning her like the doctor he was when Henry stepped forward. Helen had noticed it before, but Henry had been noticeably quiet since Ashley reappearance, but he spoke up now.

"You can't, Helen," he said forcefully with a shake of his head, "What's going to happen to her?"

Helen looked at him as if there was no one else in the room, "I'm doing this for her."

"Let go. Use your head, not your heart. She's not in any danger."

"You don't know that."

"I know more than you. How many days has it been?"

She stared at him for a long time before she had to admit, "I don't know. Three or four days."

"Six, Helen. It's been six days since Ashley woke up," Henry said.

Helen covered her face with a hand. She found herself fighting back tears. "I'm sorry," she said and repeated herself.

"You don't need to apologize, just don't let it take everything," he said with gentleness in his voice again.

"I can't leave her."

Her sons had been listening to this exchange in silence, but now Noah groaned. "I agree with Henry. What will happen if you kill yourself?"

Helen uncovered her face and looked sharply at her eldest son, "I am not at that point yet."

"Really? How many more hours until you start hallucinating? You're falling apart and you don't even realized it."

"Hey Mom, I'll go sit with her for a while," Lex said.

Helen didn't need to voice her concerns about that plan. Henry spoke up first, "No, I'll go. She knows me. Sort of. Helen, go sleep in your own bed. Rest, and then take a Goddamn shower. You will eat a full meal and then you can come back."

Helen was spent. She didn't try to argue; she didn't have the energy. Henry had been part of Ashley's family before she had disappeared. Helen just hoped that Ashley would recognize him. She slid off the stool and walked from Henry's lab. She heard shuffling and everyone talking at once. She didn't stop.

"No, I will go," said Jenny above the others.

Helen heard Jenny's footsteps catching up to her. Jenny linked her arm to Helen's. Helen let Jenny lead her to her bedroom and, like a child, help her get changed. Jenny turned down the covers and Helen crawled beneath.

"Thank you," Helen said, "Tell my boys I love them."

"They know," said Jenny.

"I know, but tell them anyway."

"I will; I promise," answered Jenny.

* * *

Helen flipped over from her one side to the other in her rickety cot. She stared at the canvas wall of her tent. It was a windy, moonlit night and a long sliver of light appeared every time the corner of the flap opened. She tried to focus her attention on simply watching the light dance above her. She was half asleep, but not quite able to give herself over to unconsciousness. A thousand thoughts kept invading and held her on the brink of sleep.

She was near Moroccan and Algerian border in the Sahara working as part of a small archeological team. Her tent was pitched in the middle of the campsite a few yards from the dig. The team was only permitted to work for three weeks exactly; they had much to do before that time expired. They only stopped working during the night was it became too dark to see more than a few feet.

There were only a few work lights and the examination tent used them. The team spent the days digging while Helen used her expertise to identify whatever was found, and then the night swift took over. Helen's focus was on the bones while the night team, consisting of Matthew Jasper and Dominic De Luca, were more interested in the artifacts. Helen had worked with Jasper before; he had been the one who asked her to join the expedition.

In the past, Helen would have been right there will them. During most expeditions, she only expected to get three or four hours of sleep. She used to work none stop until collapsing into bed. It was part of the thrill, somehow. She used to be able to function on very little sleep. In the past few months, she had been exhausted. She would sleep for a few hours and then be wide wake. That had been before; everything was changing.

"I blame you," she whispered into the darkness.

She rolled onto her back. She pulled up the corner of her top to expose her swollen belly. Her skin stretched tightly across the bump that others were beginning to notice. With a single finger, she traced a wide circle around and around across her belly.

As they had for the last few months, thoughts of the future filled her mind. The little life inside her was becoming more than just a heartbeat as she noticed changes in her body. She had imagined what this child would be like for nearly a century. It was strange to think that in four months she would be able to hold her baby. Her arms ached.

She sat up and swung her legs over the side of the cot. She was restless. This was also a new feeling. Helen had heard herself described as steady. She was often focused to the point of obsession. She could hone in on a problem and won't flinch until it was solved. However, in the past month or so she couldn't sit still.

She got up and pulled a scarf off a camper chair in her tent. She wrapped it around her shoulders and pushed open the flap. The full moon cast shadows across the nearly empty desert. She could see the outlines of the dig site and the examination tent a hundred feet away. She moved in that direction. She would walk a lap around the dig and then back to her tent. It had worked the night before.

She walked slowly. She focused on the sounds of the night desert. The air was filled with the sounds of creatures moving and hunting. The barren land was alive; she just couldn't see it. This was another trick she had taught herself over the years. If she concentrated on external elements, she could reveal some of her worries. It was a temporary solution.

At this point in her life, her concerns were entirely beyond herself. There was a life growing inside her. A life that she had dreamt about, fantasized about for all those years. Who would her child be? What would he or she look like? What would her favorite color be? Could he possibly like coffee? Would she want to be apart of Helen's work? Would he become a doctor like herself? Would she be healthy? Would he be happy? Helen's own strange life and that of the baby's father amplified the questions any new parent faces.

She had reached the point where she had begun. She paused and surveyed the dig site in the darkness. She unconsciously rubbed a hand over her belly. The point where she stood was the most developed. The trench reached probably a story deep and extended in a series of wide, square steps closer to the surface at the end nearest the campsite.

She turned to go back to her tent and the cot she was suddenly yearning for. There was the sound of movement behind her. She spun around and saw Dominic exiting the tent.

"Whose there?" he called. His flashlight beam bounced around her figure.

"It's just Magnus," she answered.

"Goodness Doctor, what are you doing?" he said with a clear note of relief.

"I was having trouble sleeping."

"So you decided to go for walk in the pitch black desert?"

"Something like that."

He made a noise as if he didn't approve.

"Is there a problem?" she asked.

She didn't know Dominic very well. They only met for the first time on the tarmac when she got off the plane. She couldn't tell what he was having an issue with. She had certainly not told him about her pregnancy; only Jasper knew in case of an emergency. Most of the men they were working with were Middle Eastern and she was worried how they would react to, not only having a woman in change, but a single, pregnant woman.

"Of course not, you simply scared me. All I saw was a figure creeping around the pit. I wasn't expecting it to be you of all people since you are—" he stopped himself, "I'm sorry that would be rude. There are certain questions you do not ask a woman."

So he knew, or rather he had guessed. "You needn't be embarrassed. I am pregnant, but I am perfectly capable," she said and, as if in defiance, place a hand on her belly.

"It is not a question of your ability, Magnus. Your reputation precedes you and I've seen you work with my own eyes. It just seems an odd choice. Coming out here in the middle of nowhere. When my sister had my niece, she nested. Isn't that what they call it? She didn't want to go anywhere."

Helen relaxed. She had misjudged Dominic. She studied him by the dim moonlight. He was tall and well muscled from lifting crates and excavating digs. He had an angular face, but soft eyes. He was an intelligent man that stood by his theories that the nomadic people who roamed this part of the Sahara were not human. Those theories had lost him respect and a job until he found his way to the Sanctuary network. She approved of his convictions.

"Well, I guess I'm not really that conventional," she said in a lighter tone.

"You are not," he said, then after a pause, "Is it a boy or a girl?"

"I haven't found out."

"Don't you get enough surprises in your line of work?" he laughed.

"I guess not."

He chuckled again. "Fine, what is your scientific guess?"

"There is no scientific way to guess the sex of an unborn child, but I have a feeling she is a girl."

"A girl, huh? Girls are sweet. A little angel you can dress in pretty, little clothes," he said.

Helen laughed now. He seemed to realized what he had said and shook his head, "Though, I don't really see your daughter wearing a dress. She'll be right there beside you kicking butt and taking names."

They had started walking as they talked and reached Helen's tent. Dominic didn't linger. "Good night," he said, "Sleep well."

"Thanks, you too," Helen answered.

She pulled back the flap of her tent and ducked inside. She slipped back under the sheet on her cot. She considered what Dominic had said. It was strange to have someone else, someone she didn't know very well, imaging what her baby would be like. She had retreated inside her own mind for so many years. She had essentially been on her own since she was a child or at least since she had injected vampiric blood into her veins. She was ready to share; to open her heart. She couldn't bear to be so alone any longer. And she won't have to be. There would be someone beside her.

* * *

Helen woke. She looked around unsure of where she was. Her dreams had been so vivid, she hadn't realized her was asleep. Slowly, she recognized her own bedroom. She didn't know how what time it was or what day it was. She could have been asleep for days or only a few hours. Her body ached as if she had been performing physical labor for hours. Part of her yearned to fall back into unconsciousness. The events of the last week prevented her for considering that idea for more than a few seconds.

She stumbled out of bed and into her bathroom. She quickly readied a shower as she tried to keep the details of the dream from slipping away. By the time the warm water washed over her body, she could only recall a terrible choice. But what she had been forced to chose between, she couldn't say.

Helen dressed in a simple pair of black pants and white shirt. She pulled her hair back into a loose braid. She felt refreshed for the first time since Ashley reappeared. She was also more hopeful. She made her way back to the medical lab stopping at the kitchen only long enough to get herself a sandwich and a cup of tea.

Helen entered Ashley's room and pulled aside the privacy curtain. The room was unchanged, except it was Henry sitting in the chair. He was working on his tablet, but looked up as soon as she appeared. Helen moved to her daughter's bedside.

"Hey, sleeping beauty," said Henry.

"How is she?" Helen asked.

"Um, well," began Henry, "We had to sedate her."

Helen sighed deeply. She once again ran the back of her hand along Ashley's cheek. "I was afraid of this."

"I know you were. She panicked. She didn't recognize me," said Henry, "I'm sorry, Magnus."

"It's not your fault. I shouldn't have left."

It was Henry's turn to sigh. "You slept for a day, a literal day. You needed it," he said forcefully.

Helen didn't respond. Her focus had already shifted. She leaned on the metal side rail of the hospital bed. She didn't want to wait. "It's like when she was little. Don't let her be afraid of the monsters," she said.

"What?" said Henry.

She had spoken too softly for him to hear. "I want to wake her up," she said louder.

"I'll leave," he automatically said.

"No. Would you stay?"

"Of course, but do you think this is a good idea? You didn't see her before. She lost control."

"I know how hysterical my daughter can be. She is a child. I think I have just take her hand and show her everything is alright."

Henry shook his head, but said, "If you think it's best."

As a matter of fact, Helen had no idea what she was doing. She had no idea what was best. Every decision could lead to a hundred outcomes. She didn't know her own child like she used to. Despite her feelings, Helen reached over and dialed down the IV sedative. She settled on the end of the bed. Henry remained in the chair, but pushed it a few feet farther back. They sat in silence and waited.

Ashley began to move. She tossed and turned trying to rid herself of the drug. She mumbled something. Eventually, she was able to open her eyes and concentrate on her mother.

"You weren't here," Ashley said.

"Darling, I'm sorry. I didn't want to leave you," Helen said.

"But you were gone," she repeated, still confused by the narcotics.

"I know," said Helen as she took Ashley's hand again, "It's like when you were a little girl, remember? Sometimes Mummy has to go away, but she always comes back."

It was a phrase she had used with all three of her children when they were small. She had said it over and over again when she had to close their bedroom doors at night or go to a meeting or leave on mission. Even across the decades, the memory seemed to calm Ashley. She didn't smile, but at least relaxed at little.

Helen knew Henry was uncomfortable eavesdropping on a private moment. Ashley hadn't noticed him on her own. Helen squeezed Ashley's hand. "There is someone here to see. It's an old friend. It's Henry," said Helen as if speaking to a shy little girl.

Henry pulled himself out of his chair and stepped forward, "Hey, Ash."

Ashley went stiff. She squeezed Helen's hand and looked terrified. She didn't say anything. She just stared at him for a long time as if she was trying to figure out if it was really him.

"Henry?" Ashley finally said.

"Yeah, it's me, Ash. I'm sorry I got so old," he paused, "And I'm sorry for that day. I shouldn't have suggested the mission. I should've been watching the door. I should've had your back. I—"

Helen stopped him by placing a hand on her arm. He closed his eyes. He had been holding that apology in for fifty years.

"I don't remember," said Ashley.

Henry sighed and opened his eyes again, "That's alright. It doesn't matter. What's important is how you're feeling. I've missed you; it's really good to see you."

Ashley smiled despite the tear welling in her eyes. It was first time Helen had seen her daughter smile. "It's good to see you too," Ashley said, "It's don't think I believed it until now. There's a lot I've missed, isn't there?"

"Yeah, Ash," said Henry, "You're back now. We can fill you in. It's going to be okay."

"I know," she said without conviction. She was still scared.

"Is there anything you want to know?" asked Henry, "I'm an open book."

Ashley looked at Helen and she nodded. "Ask away. I'd start with when Henry started losing his hair."

Ashley smiled again.


	7. Part 7

Author's Notes: Next part! Thanks for being patient. Comments = love.

* * *

Part 7:

As Ashley and Henry were talking, Helen slipped away. She had made sure Ashley knew she was leaving. Ashley seemed calm. Helen left them alone. She didn't go directly to find her other two children. She took a few minutes to check the labs, the abnormal enclosures. She stopped in Henry's empty lab and stood in front of his computer. She ran a full check of the systems, of entries and discharges, some of the research that Joanna and Reuben were over seeing. She brought herself up to date.

She had been relying on her team, her amazing team, and her even more amazing children. She glanced at the date in corner of the computer screen. She had realized Noah was supposed to return to England a month ago. Guilt pulled at her once again.

Helen checked on Ashley and then went to find her sons. Helen had hardly spoken to them in over a week. They were working in Helen's office. Well, Noah was pretending to work and Lex was pacing. Jenny, Noah's long time girlfriend, was curled in Helen's usual chair. A debate was raging in a controlled tone between the two brothers. Jenny was attempting to mediate.

Helen could hear their voices before she reached the office door.

"We have to do something. We have to help," said Lex.

"Like you did with the de-vamper?" answered Noah.

"Well, that actually worked," Jenny pointed out.

"Thank you, Jen," Lex said.

Noah groaned, "My point was that it was reckless. The situation needs patience; patience that neither of us can exercise if we are in the same house. Do you notice I included myself in that statement?"

"Very noble of you. I'm still not running away."

"It's not running. It's—"

"It's goddamn patience," Lex finished.

Helen walked in the room. The conversation ended immediately. The tension broke. In turn, Lex and then Noah crossed the room and gave her a hug. She took a second to study each of their faces. They were unchanged, of course, but she still wanted to make sure.

Jenny got up from the armchair. "Anyone a cup of tea?" she asked.

"You don't have to leave," said Helen.

"I know, Helen, but I want to give you some privacy. Noah will fill me in later."

Helen smiled and knew what Jenny said was true. Jenny smiled back and left the office. Helen lowered herself onto the loveseat. Noah and Lex sat across from her. She was tired again. She just wanted her children to be healthy and happy.

"How are you?" asked Noah.

"Oh, I'm fine," Helen said.

"Really, Mom?" said Lex.

"Of course," Helen said lightly, "I went right to sleep. I couldn't help it. I don't even remember lying down."

"Good, you needed it," said Noah.

"Yeah, beauty rest was seriously in need," Lex said.

Helen rolled her eyes, "Thank you, Alexander."

"Okay, now the next question: how is Ashley?"

Helen sighed, "I believe she is physically fine, although very weak. She can't sit up on her own, let alone stand. From what I can tell, she remembers most things. There may be a few pieces missing from right before and right after they took her. But that might be a blessing. She is mostly confused and scared, as most of us would be in her situation. She has an entirely new world to get used to and I'm not sure if she is willing to face it yet."

"Does she want to meet us?" asked Lex.

Helen looked at him and saw a little boy looking for approval from his big sister. "She hasn't asked. I think it's part of what scares her most. It has nothing to do with you, but more to do with the fact that I moved on. It was just Ashley and me for her entire life. We were a pair and that's gone."

"I can understand the feeling," said Noah, "I was an only child for a long time before Lex came along."

"Exactly, but you had time to prepare. She essentially woke up to discover she has two adult brothers and fifty years of history has past. As far as I'm concerned, the feeling is completely justified. She's talking with Henry now. I took her awhile to believe it was him."

All three were quiet for a long time. They were as confused as Ashley. There was no good way to handle the situation.

"What were you arguing about before?" asked Helen finally.

"We weren't arguing," said Lex.

"We were discussing," said Noah, "Jenny got a call from the London Sanctuary. They want us to come back. It would only be for a week or two. We just need to settle a few things and then I could come back."

"And I was thinking about going too," said Lex in a dejected sort of way.

Their conversation made sense. Lex would see it as running away. Helen started to speak, but Noah interrupted, "I have to go and if Lex comes too that will give us all some space. We don't have to peek around corners and neither does she. It's only for a couple of weeks."

"I didn't want to choose. I never wanted to choose," said Helen.

Lex answered her, "You're not choosing, we are. We're trying to take some stress off; it will be easier without us here."

"Don't ever say that," Helen said quickly, "You are not some burden or a responsibility. You're my sons and I love you."

"Love you too, Mama," said Lex, "But we know how much you love Ashley too. I feel the same way if I've never met her before. I want what's best for her recovery."

"Agreed. Besides, it doesn't matter what you say we're going," Noah said.

"Alright, if you insist," said Helen heavily. She wanted them stay; she wanted them close. She knew the logic behind them leave made sense. She still didn't like it. She didn't like anything about this situation. She finally gave into the anger she had thought she had buried a long, long time ago. Why did the Cabal have to take her daughter? What had they done to her?

"It's sucks," said Lex.

"Yes, Lex, it sucks." It was about as aciculate as Helen could be under the circumstances.

"Mom, come here now!" the shout echoed down the hallway from Helen's office to the kitchen.

Her heart began racing. She abandoned the cup of tea she was preparing and walked quickly back to her office.

Noah was in one of the chairs by her desk. He was flipped around so his legs were hanging over the back. He still wore his middle school uniform.

"What's the matter?" she asked as soon as she had crossed the threshold.

"Nothing's wrong. Look," said Noah.

She looked where her son was pointing. Lex was standing on two chubby baby legs in the open area between the chairs in front of her desk and the comfortable chairs in front of the fireplace. He was standing on his own. He was ten months old and standing on his own.

"He pulled himself up," Noah said.

"Oh, wow," said Helen.

She knelt down on the floor and leaned back on her heels only a foot or two from where her youngest was standing. She spread her arms wide. Lex smiled, showing off his two front teeth. He shook his head, so quickly he almost made himself fall down.

Helen laughed. That was the newest thing. He couldn't talk yet, but he still knew how to say no.

"Come here, Lexi," Helen said.

He shook his head again and this time he lost his balance. He landed on his backside.

"Sorry I called you. It looked like he was going to do it," said Noah.

"Don't be so hasty," she said.

Lex seemed to have startled himself with his slight fall. He just sat on the floor looking up at his mother as if expecting her to do something. He pulled at the bottom of the green t-shirt he was wearing.

"Come on, little one. Try again," Helen said gently. She held out a hand to help him get back on his feet.

Lex looked at her with a face that clearly said, 'I will do this on my own.' Helen had learned that look a few months before.

Lex pushed himself up by sticking his bottom straight up in the air. He wobbled again as he stood straightened, but Helen was there to grab Lex's plump wrist. He pulled his arm out of her grasp as once and took two, three, four steps before stumbling into Helen's lap.

Helen laughed. She scooped up her son and kissed his cheeks again and again. He giggled and tried to squirm away. Even Noah, who was nearly a teenage, smiled at what his little brother had done. She finally allowed Lex wriggle free. He did not utilize his new skill, but crawled, with he bottom back in the air, over to the sofa and pulled himself up.

Helen was still smiling. Lex would insist on doing things his way. As soon as he stood up again, he held out a hand. Helen knew what he wanted. She let him take her index finger and pull her around the office. He chattered happily in a language that neither Helen nor Noah understood.

This lasted a few minutes until Lex lost interest. Under his brother's watchful eye, Helen left to retrieve her cup of tea. She returned and settled in the high backed chair behind her desk. She turned back to the research study spread out in front of her as Noah did his homework. Lex partly crawled, partly walked around them. They worked quietly, as they did nearly every night.

Eventually, Lex got tired of his explorations. By holding the edge of the desk, he moved his way around to Helen's seat. He whined until she lifted him into her lap. It was late for him and he was clearly getting tired. He snuggled up against Helen's chest and began sucking his thumb. Helen normally would have tried to discourage this behavior, but tonight, she decided, he deserved a reward. His first steps. She marveled inwardly.

She felt luck to have been there to catch all three of her children after their first steps. Noah had waddled into her arm just after his first birthday during a trip to New Orleans. He had walked across the grass in the courtyard of the house where they were staying.

Ashley too had taken her first steps just after her first birthday, but in the villa in Italy. It had been Helen's first time off since Ashley's birth. Just the two of them in that big house and the gardens.

She sighed; she couldn't help but think back sometimes. She wished her daughter could be here. She realized, with a pang of guilt, it had been weeks since she had thought about Ashley. With Lex in the hospital, bringing him home, dealing with Druitt's death for both Noah and herself, she had simply been otherwise occupied.

It was a logical explanation and probably healthy, but she could help the guilt. The past pulled at her. If she let it, it could take her under. She could retreat; disappear into the regret and imagine another outcome. It would be too easy. She felt Lex's weight in her arms and his head against her and her focused returned to the present. She leaned her cheek on the top of Lex's head. He yawned contently.

"I'm going to put Lexi to bed," she said after a while, "I'll be back to check those math problems."

"I don't need you to. I can check in the back of the book," said Noah without looking up.

"Either way. I'll be back when he's down," she said as she rose from the desk.

Noah put down his pencil and finally looked up, "Good job today, little man. Sleep well."

Helen smiled as she carried Lex to his bedroom.

"I'm really nervous," said Ashley.

Helen understood her daughter's feeling. Helen was slightly nervous herself. She helped Ashley from her bed into a wheelchair; Ashley leaning heavy on her mother. Lex and Noah were returning today. They had both left for England two weeks ago and a lot had happened in those two weeks.

Ashley had emerged from the medical lab. The reunion with Henry had acted as something of the floodgate as well as learning the boys would be leaving. Ashley never said anything aloud, but Helen suspected it had relieved some of the pressure. Noah had good instincts.

Ashley was still very weak and not entirely stable. Once or twice a day, she would get confused and panic. Only Helen could calm her down. Even in this short period of time, they began speaking in terms of good days and bad days. But she was getting better and Helen had been able to return to most of her Sanctuary duties.

Ashley was never alone, however. Helen had got in touch with cryogenic lab and hired one of their rehabilitation specialists. She was a big, Russian woman named Roxana. She had begun working with Ashley to increase her strength. In the afternoon, Henry or Joanna would sit with her. Joanna had taken it upon herself to educate Ashley on the history she had missed. Ashley didn't seem to mind. Joanna was a bit awkward, but intelligent and well meaning. Ashley didn't have much energy for anything else and would sleep for the rest of the night. Helen slept in the room next door.

Helen pushed the wheelchair forward, "There is no reason to be nervous. They are family."

"I know, but I can't help it. My family has always extended far, but it was always really just you and me."

"Things change," said Helen as she squeezed Ashley's shoulder from behind as they got onto the elevator. It had become their motto. Helen needed to repeat it a couple times a day; both to herself and to Ashley.

The doors opened onto the upper level. Eden and Clark, two of the Sanctuary's field operatives, were standing on the other side. Eden took a visible step backwards when she saw the two Magnus women in the elevator.

Eden's mother was an empathic and she had passed some of the gift onto her daughter. She had been jumpy since Ashley reappeared. Clark, on the other hand, was a stoic as ever. He bowed and stepped aside as Helen pushed Ashley's wheelchair off the elevator.

"How are you doing today, Dr. Magnus, Miss Ashley?" he asked.

"Very well, thank you, Clark. My boys are coming home today," said Helen.

"Of course, Mr. Henderson mentioned that this morning," he said. Reuben Henderson was Helen's protégé; he had been running the Sanctuary almost exclusively until two weeks ago.

Helen and Clark continued their small talk for a minute or two. Both Eden and Ashley were conspicuously quiet. Helen knew her daughter was uncomfortable. She was very anxious around people, especially the new team, and particularly Eden.

Ashley shifted in her wheelchair. Eden was watching her intently. With the movement, Eden clutched Clark's arm, and squeezed. Both Helen and Ashley noticed and, of course, Clark did as well.

"Clark, we have," Eden didn't even tried to finish the sentence.

"Yes, Eden is correct. We have work to do. Excuse us, Dr. Magnus, Miss Magnus," said Clark.

"Good evening," said Helen.

Clark pulled Eden into the elevator.

"I know," said Ashley as soon as the doors were closed, "She's empathic."

"I think she senses the pain you went through," said Helen.

"No, I know what she senses. It's the monster. The monster I am and the monsters that followed me in the darkness," Ashley said flatly.

Helen stopped pushing the wheelchair. She moved around in front of her daughter and knelt down. "Don't you dare. You are not a monster. Don't you ever say that," said Helen.

Ashley didn't answer and refused to look at Helen. She stayed by Ashley's side for a few minutes. Even without being an Empath, Helen had sensed sometime like this was bothering Ashley. She was afraid of she had become under the influence of the Source Blood. But now was not the time to delve into that fear; not with Noah and Lex due back within the hour. Helen sighed and returned to pushing the wheelchair to her office. She just wanted Ashley to be happy again.

They entered the office. Helen stopped by the fireplace. Ashley carefully moved herself onto the sofa. Helen was suddenly a wash with the memories of all the hundreds, thousands of times she has seen her daughter sitting in that spot. Ashley was still thin and gaunt, but some of the color had returned to her cheeks. Her eyes were alive and scanning the office she knew, but hadn't been in for fifty years.

Helen felt the weight from all those lost years pressing down on her. She sunk down on the sofa next to Ashley and looked her full in the face. Ashley stared back. Tears welled in Helen's eyes. She pulled Ashley into a tight hug. Ashley stiffened and then relaxed into the embrace. They stayed that way for a long time.

"I am so very, very glad you have come home," said Helen, "I love you so much."

"I love you, too," Ashley whispered back. It was the first time Ashley had returned such affection aloud.

Helen let go of her daughter. She brushed the back of her fingers along Ashley's cheek. "It will get better. You don't have to run from the darkness anymore."

"I'm trying to remember that," Ashley whispered.

"And I am here to help you."

Ashley gave her a weak smile.

Helen smiled back, "I have something for you while we wait."

"Oh yes?" said Ashley.

"Homework from Joanna," Helen said. She got up from the sofa and moved over to her desk. She picked up a book and returned to her seat beside Ashley.

It was a large text of the history of the last fifty years. She handed it to Ashley, who struggled to hold it up. She lowered it to her lap and began flipping threw the papers. "She's worse than you were about homework," Ashley said, "She's really going to expect me to have read this."

Helen smiled again. Ashley had nailed Joanna's personality. Helen reached over and picked up her tablet. Then, they waited, although neither was really concentrating. Ashley flipped through pages without actually looking at them. Helen was paying close attention to her daughter.

They have to wait long. There was a knock at the half-open office door. Noah entered closely followed by Lex. Another broad smile spread across Helen's face. It felt like it had been a very long time since she had seen her sons. She rose from the sofa. She crossed the room and allowed herself be embraced by Noah. He lifted her a few inches off the floor. Noah let go and she moved to Lex. She hugged her younger son, then reached up and kissed him on the cheek.

"It's good to see you. Both of you," she said, "There's some I would like you to meet."

She stepped aside so her sons could fully see Ashley sitting by the fireplace. Ashley tried to stand, but she was unable.

Noah stepped forward, "You're fine. Don't try. It is so good to meet you, Ashley." He said her name like it was a spell.

He leaned over and started to hug her. She flinched. Noah slowed his movement, but still approached her. His embrace was short, but the relief was clear on Ashley face when he straightened. Lex watched this interaction and chose a simple handshake. Ashley smiled at him gratefully, "It's nice to meet you."

Noah and Lex sank into the chairs across from Ashley and Helen settle down next to her daughter. There was an awkward pause as Helen's three children stared at each other. Where do you begin when your sister comes back to life? Or you discover you have been death for fifty years and wake up to learn you have two brothers?

Helen was the first to break that tension. "How was London?" she asked the boys.

"It was busy," said Noah.

"It was good," said Lex as the same time.

Noah rolled his eyes, "Yes well, Lex would thing it was good. He did nothing but roam the city and its museums. I did all the work."

"What? I hadn't been there in like three years and I helped with the intakes."

"Keyword is 'helped.' He worked for a few hours in the morning and then disappear," Noah said.

"Fine, I did. But I had thinks on my mind," Lex said and looked sideways at Ashley.

"Excuses," said Noah and shoved Lex playfully.

"Alright, enough," said Lex.

"Were your travels uneventful?" asked Helen to change the subject.

"Noah sure thought so. He slept all the way here. His mouth open and everything," Lex said and mimicked his brother.

"Okay, baby brother, how about you missed the exit from the airport? Again. How many years you have lived here? How many times have you been to the airport?" Lex made a face.

Their banter was forced. They were just as nervous as Ashley was. She squirmed. She was so entirely outside of this closeness. They were her flesh and blood and yet she didn't know them at all. Her mother she knew, but her relationship with these two men was foreign. She talked to them, touched them in such a familiar way; a way once only reserved for Ashley. She was an stranger in a place she had once felt most at home. And it was written all over her face.

She was silent as her brothers and mother talked. They spoke of places and people she didn't know. They spoke of events she had no knowledge. Despite her efforts to make herself invisible, the conversation focused on Ashley.

"So, Ash, I mean Ashley, is it as weird for you to be here as it is for us to see you?" Lex said in an awkward pause in the discussion. The question earned him an elbow from Noah and a sharp look from his mother.

"What?" he mouthed in Helen's direction.

"Everyone stop fussing," said Ashley, "This is weird. And before you ask, I don't remember much of being in the Cabal's control. It's out in the open. Ask what ever you want." She then stared at them as if daring them to actually ask a question.

The silence was palpable. No seemed to be breathing. Each family member was waiting for the other to make the first move. Noah broke the spell first. He didn't say anything, but got up and perched on the coffee table directly in front of Ashley. He leaned forward and rested his forearms on his knees.

"This is not an attack; this is not some interview to see if you are worthy. And we aren't trying to replace you. It took two of us to fill a fraction of the hole you left. I can understand that it feels like we just took over. You are in familiar place that's also so different. I know you are not yourself and it will take you along time for you to get to a place where you feel comfortable again. I, for one, have a vague idea of what you are going through. This idiot," he pointed over his shoulder at Lex, "is eleven years younger than me. I remember what it's like to be an only child and then have to share. It pales in comparison, but, I guess I'm trying to say is we're family and we're here to support you. Whatever you need."

Helen was watching Ashley the entire time Noah was speaking. She could see her daughter's reaction going one of two ways. Ashley was either going to panic or accept Noah's words and possibly take a step closer to accepting the changes in her life. As Noah finished, Ashley relaxed ever so slightly. Helen probably won't have notice if she hadn't been watching so closely.

"I know no one is trying to replace me," she said with clarity Helen hadn't hear before, "It's just hard not to wish things had stayed the same."

"Things change," intone Helen.

Ashley nodded sadly, "Now that they have, I'm looking forward to getting to know both of you." She looked up at Lex as she finished.

"Us too," he said, "I can't wait for you to get back to full strength so I can't see if you really are as good a fighter as everyone says you are."

"I will wipe the floor with you, little brother," she said.

"Oh, I'd be careful, Ashley, there's nothing little about him but his brain," said Noah.

In retaliation, Lex kicked the coffee table. It lifted it up for a second and returned to the ground with a loud bang. Ashley recoiled and Helen visibly saw her shrink back into her shell.

"That's enough," said Helen, "Ashley, you will learn that those two are incapable of acting like adults in each other's presence."

Ashley didn't answer. Helen signed and placed a hand on Ashley's arm. She looked at her mother as she was very far away, but smiled.

Noah moved back to his chair. The conversation turned to Ashley's new routine, her PT, and her lessons with Joanna. Lex and Noah spent a good deal of time discussing her odd teaching methods which allowed Ashley to return to simply listening.


	8. Part 8

Part 8:

Helen pushed Ashley's wheelchair back into the hallway. Her sons followed dutifully behind her. It was late, at least for Ashley; they'd been talking for a long time. She looked as if she were about to collapse with fatigue. The introduction between Ashley and her brothers had gone as well as could be expected. It had been awkward, but no one had panicked. Ashley had stayed rooted in this time and place. Helen was pleased. There had been obvious progress tonight.

They'd reached the elevator when someone let out a small cry. All four Magnuses quickly looked in the direction of the noise. Eden came hurtling down the passage and threw her arms around Lex's neck. They'd known each other a long time. They had practically grown up together. Eden's mother had been a part of the Network long before Eden had started working in Old City. Still, Lex looked surprised.

"Thank God you're back. I need to talk to you. It's important," she said.

"E, what's the matter? What happened?" Lex asked quickly.

She pulled away, "Not now. Not here." She shot a pointed look in Ashley's direction. It wasn't subtle. Everyone noticed, especially Ashley. She shrank in her chair.

Noah frowned. "This isn't the time or the place," he said in an undertone.

"I wasn't talking to you," Eden snapped.

Helen was tired of Eden's behavior. She had been skulking around the Sanctuary since Ashley came back. Something was bothering her; something had scared her. It was time to have it out. Helen wouldn't let Eden undo any progress made that evening with a look.

"Enough. I will not have these secrets. Either say what you have to say or set up a time to meet with me privately," said Helen, acting as both Eden's boss and Ashley's protective mother. It was an alarming combination.

Eden was confrontational, but she was not reckless. Helen assumed the private meeting would allowed Eden to say what she needed to say while avoiding whatever had scared her. Instead, she whirled around to face Helen.

"You don't get it. She's not alone," Eden shouted with an accusatory finger pointed at Ashley, "She's barely in control. We are in so much danger. I can feel it. Magnus, you are too close. You've forgotten she's an abnormal. Who made her? Where did she come from? She's going to lose eventually and we'll all be dead!"

Ashley was suddenly on her feet. She rose on her thin frame that only minutes earlier was not strong enough to support her own weight. She was ridged; control rippling beneath every muscle. With a powerful grip, Ashley took Eden by the throat and slammed her against the wall in one easy movement. Ashley eyes were pitted blackness. She was utterly calm and held fast.

Eden scrambled for breath, trying desperately to free herself. Her hands clawed at Ashley's arms. Her face flooded with fear. There was a single second where no one moved; they were too shocked. Then, all at once, Ashley's family sprang forward.

It took both Noah and Lex to haul Ashley off Eden. Her fingers left red raw marks on Eden's flesh. Eden fell to the floor, coughing and gasping. Helen dropped to knees. She focused on Eden while still award of the struggle going to behind her. It took both her sons to restrain Ashley. She was like a corned wild cat, squirming, twisting, writhing in Lex's arms.

As it became clear to Helen that Eden was more panicked than actually damaged, she took the radio receiver from Eden's ear. Helen didn't have hers on; she hadn't thought she would need it and she didn't want to be interrupted.

"We need help by the elevator on the second floor. Medical, stunner, and for the love of God, Henry turn the EM shield off," Helen ordered.

There was a garble of voice over the radio waves. She pulled the earpiece off again. There was a pressure at the back of her mind. She used the palm of her hands to cover her eyes; she needed to concentrate. She recognized the feeling. She'd spend years talking to mermaids and other telepathic creatures this way. Helen was never able to fully master words and sentences, but feelings were easy to transmit.

The Cabal abnormals had worked in perfect union without speaking. At the time, Helen had only guessed they communicated using their minds, now she had proof. The howling inside her head said enough. She pushed back against the noise and met a wall of resistance.

"Mom, what the hell are you doing?" she heard Lex shout. Helen uncovered her eyes just long enough to see Lex grappling with Ashley while Noah gave more orders over the radio.

Helen covered her eyes again without answering. She thought of a ball of energy. She wound it tightly, and then fired it like a canon ball. Behind all the force she threw the word, 'Stop!' Sally had told her that her precise words never translated, but intention did.

The commotion beyond Helen's closed eyes suddenly ceased. Was it really that easy? Could she really have saved Ashley all those years ago with just a thought? In the silence, she could hear the footfalls of the rescues they no longer needed. Clark and Reuben came barreling down the passage with their stunners held ready.

"Stand down," ordered Helen as she rose to her feet.

They lowered their weapons. Everyone watched as Helen moved to Ashley's side. Lex was no longer struggling to hold Ashley. She had collapsed and he knelt over her.

"What the hell just happened?" asked Noah.

Helen didn't answer. She bent down and checked on Ashley. Her daughter was unconscious but breathing normally. Her pulse was steady beneath Helen's fingertips.

"We need to get her back to the medical lab," Helen said.

Lex nodded and gathered his sister in his arms.

"Wait a minute, Magnus. What happened?" asked Reuben.

"Reuben, if I answer that question now I don't think I will be able to contain my outrage."

Reuben looked shocked. Helen anger was legendary but it rarely showed itself. He had the good sense not to ask her again.

"I told you," rasped Eden from where she sat on the floor.

Helen clenched her fists and sighed deeply.

"Eden, don't," warned Noah.

Eden pulled herself up still clutching her throat, "Magnus, I told you."

"I am struggling here, Eden. Let me take care of my child and I will talk to you later," said Helen.

"You still don't get it," Eden shouted as best she could, "It's dangerous. She could have killed me."

"Simply because you provoked her."

"And what if I did?" said Eden, childishly.

Helen crashed her fist into the wall next to Eden's head. The impulsive motion sent a river of pain up Helen's arm, yet somehow it felt good, like a reminder she was alive. Once again, Helen used her mind to shout. There were no words behind it this time, just a mother's fury. Eden flinched as if Helen had actually hit her. With Eden's sensitivity, she fell the force of Helen's thoughts. Eden opened her mouth to speak.

"Don't say anything," Helen said, only a few inches from Eden's face, "I can handle anything in this lifetime or a hundred others except someone who threaten with my children. I lost Ashley for fifty years and I was just beginning to get her back. If you have taken her away from me again, I will, I will—" she was unable to finish her sentence. She let out a roar of frustration and shoved away from Eden.

Helen marched to the elevator and aggressively pushed the down button. She could feel everyone watching her. Helen didn't look back as the elevator door opened.

"Noah, please make sure Eden is going to be fine and then came to Ashley's room," said Helen as she stepped onto the elevator. Lex followed her. She turned slowly as the doors closed and stared hard at Eden. Helen's jaw was set and her anger had not faded.

Helen wrapped her dressing gown tighter around her shoulders as she opened the front door. Tullia moved passed her and into the chilly sea air. The midwife paused at the top of the stone steps leading down to the coastal main road.

"You have everything you need," Tullia asked in her heavy accent.

"Sí, grazie. We will be fine," said Helen.

"Good, bene. Avete il mio numero di telefono. Call if you need anything."

"I will, grazie. Buonanotte."

Tullia kissed Helen once on each cheek, "A good night."

Helen watched Tullia's stocky frame bob down the steps and fade in the gathering darkness. Helen breathed deeply. She paused a moment longer, holding still so she could hear the rolling ocean. Capri was a small island; you could hear the ocean from almost anywhere. Her villa was built into one of the rocky hillsides. The cliff dropped off on the other side of the road, so she couldn't see the waves breaking, but only the expanse of water that led to the mainland Italy.

She finally closed the door. The villa was not some enormous, marble mansion. It was a simple home with classic Italian architecture. Two bedrooms upstairs and another one downstairs, where Tullia had been staying for the past two weeks. The only unusual part of the house was Helen had converted the living room into a makeshift lab. She had never stayed in the villa long enough before to entertain anyone. She'd been here a month and a half and still had no plans to entertain. The lab was rarely used, especially this trip. The purpose had not been to work. The purpose had been to get ready, to actually detach for the first time in decades.

Helen climbed back upstairs and entered her bedroom. She moved slowly; she was still sore from the ordeal of giving birth. She perched on the end of the bed and leaned over the bassinet. Noah waved his arm as if he were still trying to figure out how to use them. And she supposed he was.

He looked up with his blue eyes and waved his arms again. He wasn't fusing just taking in his new world. She tucked his blanket around his little body, swaddling him up again. He stopped wriggling and let out a tiny sigh.

"Happy two weeks," she softly said.

Two weeks old and this was her first night entirely by herself. Tullia had been always been just downstairs, and during the day, she allowed Helen a few minutes to do things like shower. It had been more important while Helen had still really been recovering and, of course during labor.

After Will's gentle suggestion, Helen had left the Sanctuary in his care and disappeared to Italy. He was only one that she had confided in. It had only been once. They had been collapsed in the chairs in her office after an especially long week. Will had realized the day was exactly two months away from her due date. He'd asked a simple question with enormous implications.

"I'm so conflicted," she had said, "I'm excited and scared."

"I would image most parents feel that way," Will had answered, "You've done this before."

"That's exactly the problem. I already know what's at stake. I have so much hope for this little one," she rubbed her belly, "and I know how that can be taken away. I know I could not survive that lost again."

"Maybe you should take some time to yourself then. It might be good to just focus on one thing for a little while. You can trust me, ya know? To look after this place."

"I know I can," she said, but didn't respond to his idea.

The seed had been planted and as her due date grew closer she found she was overwhelmed by everything she needed to juggle. She realized one night when she was up too late with a mountain of paperwork laid out in front of her that it really was pointless. She was tired, her back was aching, her baby was positioned in just such a way that made it uncomfortable to breath when she leaned over her desk. What was she trying to prove? And to who? If she had learned anything from Ashley was not overlook what was important. She had made her flight arrangements the next day.

The travel time had been over fourteen hours. Helen had finally arrived at her villa very early in the morning barely having slept. The cab driver had carried her bags inside while she had sat and watched. Then, he had left. The house was quiet and she was on her own.

Helen had had the housekeeper get the house ready for her. She knew there were a few basic groceries in the kitchen and the bed made upstairs. It seemed to go against everything she believed in, but she left her suitcases in the hallway and slid into her bed. She had slept a little, but mostly she had talked to her belly while running a finger across the skin.

For the next few weeks, she allowed herself to sleep in, she read research journals and even a novel, she watched the ocean and wandered through the market. She talked to Will a few times, but she disconnected. The villa was not outfitted with any special technology. There was just an ancient computer, or ancient by Henry's standards, in the office at the back of the house.

Then, Noah made his appearance a week early. It was eighteen hours of labor. She had been so scared. It was the fear of losing her son. Tullia knew only that Helen had given birth once before and that the child had died. She wronging assumed that it was pain that caused Helen's tears. And then, like with Ashley, one moment Helen was alone and then she wasn't. Noah's wailing filled the bedroom and Helen found her tears were suddenly out of joy.

Noah started fussing, and Helen scooped him up. He settled in the crook of her arm and immediately stopped. He was already a momma's boy and she would have it no other way.

She walked to the window. She was still caught up in the thoughts and barely saw the ocean waves. Her son was beautiful. She had not realized how much her heart had still hurt from the loss of her daughter. She had told herself while she would never forget, she had moved on. But as her belly grew and she began to feel Noah moving and somehow let herself feel the ache. It was gone on, or a lot less with Noah in her arms. It had been the same with Ashley.

Helen turned around. There was another figure in the room. She was dressed in all white with her long blonde pushed behind her shoulders. Helen wasn't afraid or even surprised.

"He's amazing, Mom," Ashley said.

Helen smiled, "It's hard to believe I can actually hold him."

"You don't have to be alone anymore."

"I miss you and I love you," Helen said as tears welled in her eyes again.

"I know."

Helen closed her eyes and let her daughter's voice echo in her head. The droplets hovering on her eyelashes slid down her cheeks. She should be worried; seeing visions was not a good sign. She blamed it on the lack of sleep. She opened her eyes again and knew Ashley would be gone.

She leaned over and gently kissed the top of Noah's head. She was still scared. Frightened. Petrified. Terrified. She ran through the thesaurus in her head. They were living in a bubble right now, but in another week she would be returning to Old City. What then? She would be thrown back in that rapid lifestyle. That dangerous lifestyle.

It was the question of what she would do if Noah weren't here anymore. She could take care of him. She could feed him, change him, rock him to sleep. She could watch him grew up. She already loved him.

There was a tender spot in her heart; an area she was careful not to touch. It was too painful. Too many years of death built up into one place. Now, she felt like she was standing in the middle of it.

She moved away from the window. She placed her son down on the bed. She went back to the window and closed the tall, slatted shutter. She left it open so a sliver of moonlight cut across the foot of the bed. She then lied down next to the little bundle.

She tucked her arm beneath her head on top of the pillow and pulled her knees closer to her chest, making a little half circle around Noah. With her other hand, she gently rubbed his belly. He closed his eyes and yawned as big as he was able to. She was the only person in the world who knew this baby liked having his belly rubbed. She liked that she knew that; the things only his mother could know.

"I'm going to make you a promise," Helen said.

Noah opened his eyes again at the sound of her voice. He was listening.

"I promise," she continued, "that I will do everything in my power to keep you safe and make sure you are happy. In exchange, you have to promise to do everything in your power to stay safe. Okay? Can you agree to that? I know this is not your responsibly, but I will survive losing you."

She kissed his cheek and closed her eyes. He will be hungry in an hour or two.

The rage disappeared and replaced with worry by the time the elevator doors opened on the correct level. Helen quickly led the way across the main lab and into the medical lab. Lex gently placed Ashley back onto her bed. Helen was the one who handed him a stunner. "I won't restrain her, but I'm not ignorant to how dangerous she is," she said.

Lex didn't answer, but simply nodded. He stood ready. Feet planted apart in a firm stance, the weapon held with locked arms. He kept quiet and watched.

Helen sat down on the edge of the bed. She pushed Ashley's tangled hair away from her face. She closed her eyes to concentrate once again. She thought of an azure blue sky and an easy summer breeze and waking from a nap beneath the shade of a tree. She pushed the thought towards her daughter and in her mind said, "Wake up."

Almost at once, Ashley's eyes began to open. She saw Helen sitting beside her and started to cry. Helen pulled her into a tight hug, holding her close as if Ashley was small and had had a nightmare.

"Mommy, I'm so sorry. I couldn't help it. It was like before. I was trying so hard to fight it," Ashley said. Her tear soaking face tucked in the crook of Helen's neck. She could only just make out the words her daughter was saying.

_It was like before._ It was the only sentence Helen understood fully. As much as Ashley tried to deny it, she remembered. This was just one more thing they were going to have to deal with. Right now, Ashley needed to get herself under control. Helen was afraid this rush of emotion might trigger something.

"I know, my darling, I know. Eden as much as admitted she provoked you. I'm surprised at her behavior. I don't blame you and this does not change anything. We will figure this out," said Helen.

Ashley pulled away to look her mother in the face. Her eyes were red and her cheek blotchy. In a hurry between big, shaky breaths Ashley continued to talk, "She doesn't know. She doesn't understand."

"No, sweetheart, I don't think any of us could. Take a deep breath. You're okay," said Helen.

"I knew what was happening and couldn't do anything. I watched everything. She can't understand. I felt my body doing horrible things."

"You weren't in control. No one is blaming you. Ashley, please calm down."

"But I felt my body—I tried to kill you. I wanted to kill you. I spent my life in these places and helped destroy them. I'm so sorry, Mom. I'm so sorry."

Ashley broke down again and let herself be folded back into her mother's arm. They stayed that way for a long time. The only measure of Helen's mind that was not on Ashley felt Lex's eyes on her. These two points in her life had always been so separate and now they had collided.


End file.
